Through Her Eyes
by wintaer
Summary: Shirataki Rika was just a normal transfer student. That is until she settled into Karakura Town and found out that there was more to this world than what she had originally thought... Urahara/OFC
1. Fitting Into Karakura Town

_**Disclaimer: **__The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Chapter 1: Fitting Into Karakura Town

"Rika-chan!"

"Hello Orihime! Heya Tatsuki! Sorry I missed you guys this morning, I woke up late." I said as I walked towards my two best friends.

"Riiiiiiiika!" That voice could only belong to one person. I turned just in time to see Asano run towards me with arms wide open. Step to the left, stick out the foot… THUD!

"Oh! Hello Asano… almost didn't see you there in the grass. You should be more careful, someone might step on you." I grinned innocently down at him.

Kojima approached holding his lunch and looked down at Asano. "When are you ever going to learn not to intrude on Shirataki's personal space Kiego?"

"But it's so fun teasing her." Asano replied as he lifted himself up.

I just rolled my eyes at him as I sat down under the shade next to Tatsuki and Orihime and started to eat my lunch. Moments later, Kurosaki and Chad arrived to join the group. This was shaping up to be another normal lunch at school, surrounded by my friends. I could still remember back to when I first met them…

_--Flashback--_

"Well… this is as ready as I'll be…" I mumbled to myself as I stared into the mirror.

An 18 year old girl, of about 5'3", with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, stared back at me with nervous dark green eyes.

"Rika! Come down to breakfast or you'll be late, and on your first day too!"

"Coming mother!" I called as I raced downstairs.

My younger brother, Teison, was already downstairs and in the process of finishing his breakfast.

"So, are you two ready for your new schools?" Mom asked as I started on my breakfast.

"Yeah!" chirped Teison while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "I hope I make lots of new friends!"

"I already don't like mine." I mumbled, wishing that I had some of Teison's optimism and enthusiasm about new schools.

"Oh come on… I'm sure the school won't be _that _bad." said mom.

"Won't be that bad!? Have you seen this uniform? I'm wearing a skirt! A SKIRT! And a freaking _short_ skirt at that!" I complained for the umpteenth time while tugging at the offending material.

"Hahaha! Rika's wearing a skiii-rt!" Teison's sing-song voice came from behind me. "Rika's wearing a skiii-rt!"

"YOU!" I tried to take a swipe at him as he scampered away upstairs, laughing all the while.

"Now, now Rika… a change now and then isn't so bad. Besides, you can't be a tomboy forever…" Mom stated as she tried to calm me down.

"Oh yeah? Try me." I grumbled as I stomped up the stairs to get ready to leave for school, and of course exact some revenge on a certain sibling of mine.

Lunchtime found me sitting under the shade of a tree, munching on my sandwich all by myself. I sighed, missing all the friends that I had left back in America when we moved here to Karakura Town this summer. While I was glad that dad had gotten a promotion, why in the world did it just _have_ to be a promotion to this branch here in Karakura? And just _why_ did my parents decide to take this job and move here? Sure, both of them were born in Japan, and mom actually grew up in this town. But did dad really have to take that as a sign from whatever fates were out there and agree to take the job? I mean, the both of them immigrated to the States for the colleges and opportunities, became American citizens, met, got married, and raised a family there. Weren't they content with their life there? I sure as hell was.

_So glad they consulted the children on this move… not!_

Maybe this was why mom was so adamant that Teison and I attended Japanese school on the weekends and kept in touch with our Japanese culture. Guess she wanted to make sure that we wouldn't flounder and drown if she and dad ever decided to move back to Japan. So what? Maybe I wasn't floundering in the language and cultural area of my life, but I sure as hell was drowning in the social area. I had been looking forward to starting my senior year of high school with all my friends back home, but now we were separated by the whole entire Pacific Ocean! And if that wasn't the worst part, it didn't look like I would have any friends here in Karakura Town, what with everyone else in my class already having their established groups of friends, and my being too timid to take the first step to get to know people.

"Hey!" A voice came from in front of me. "Aren't you Shirataki Rika? That new girl?"

Startled, I looked up from my lunch and saw a girl that I vaguely recognized from the dojo I had joined a couple weeks ago.

"Oh! Hi, um... Arisawa-san, right?"

"Yeah, but you can call me Tatsuki. Arisawa-san is a bit too stuffy for me." She grinned, "You look kind of lonely sitting there by yourself, wanna come eat with us?" She gestured towards a group of girls sitting under a nearby tree.

I nodded, happy (and relieved) that someone had approached me and offered to be friends.

Even though she was two years younger than me, Tatsuki and I quickly became close friends. After all, we were the only two girls at the dojo, and both of us were tomboys. Of course, one couldn't be close friends with Tatsuki without becoming good friends with her best friend, Inoue Orihime. As time passed, I gradually settled into my new life in Karakura Town. I usually hung out with Tatsuki and Orihime when I wasn't in school or in the dojo. Every once in a while, Tatsuki's long-time friend, Kurosaki Ichigo, and his group of friends would join us. My first meeting with a certain Asano Kiego was… interesting… to say the least.

_"Shirataki Rika? So you're the new upperclassman from America that Arisawa was talking about? Usually, older girls are more Mizuiro's thing, but you just let out this irresistible sparkle." He grabbed my hand and knelt down on one knee. "Asano Kiego, at your service! Should you ever need a manly knight in shining armor, I'm the one to call out to!"_

_I blinked._

_"Err… nice to meet you too, Asano-san…"_

_"She speaks! The goddess speaks! Oh, what a sweet voice… The voice of an--"_

_"Urusai!" Kurosaki Ichigo smacked him on the head. "You need to stop doing this with every new girl you meet."_

And that was the end of that. Of course, it didn't stop him from acting the same way whenever the two groups hung out together.

A few months after that, I was jogging back home from the dojo, adrenaline from an earlier sparring session still pumping through my veins, when I turned the corner and saw Kurosaki standing next to a lamp post, talking to a little girl.

"Fancy running into you, Kurosaki!" I called out as I approached.

He whirled around at the sound of my voice.

"Oh! Hello Shirataki. What are you doing here?" He rubbed the back of his head and attempted to smile at me. It looked unnatural on his usually serious face, and I wondered why he seemed so nervous.

"I was just heading home from the dojo." I smiled at the girl standing behind him, "Is she your sister?"

Kurosaki's hand fell to his side as he stared at me dumbfoundedly. "Y-You can see her??"

I raised my eyebrow at him. "No Kurosaki, I'm actually asking if that lamp post behind you is your sister…" I shook my head. "Why wouldn't I be able to see her? Is she supposed to be invisible or something?"

"No… it's just that she's a spirit…"

"Yeah, right… and I'm Einstein." I smirked, "You do know that those ghost stories that our parents told us when we were little are just _stories_, right?"

"I'm being serious."

I turned towards the girl with a frown. "Is he alright? He hasn't eaten anything odd today, has he?"

The girl just shook her head as she approached. Then, without any warning whatsoever, she aimed a punch towards my stomach.

Immediately, my right hand shot out to seize her wrist, only to grab onto thin air as I watched her arm slide through my midsection. It felt like someone had jammed a huge block of ice into my stomach, minus the pain.

It was my turn to stare in shock, eyes wide open, mouth moving, unable to form any coherent thoughts.

"W-What the hell?! What did you do? Who are you??"

She withdrew her fist, leaving no mark behind. I shuddered at the cold sensation of her arm pulling out of me.

"I told you, she's a spirit, or ghost, whatever you want to call it."

"A spirit? But how--"

Kurosaki sighed. "Remember that girl who died here a couple days ago? This is her…"

"But… a spirit?! Even if she _is_ a ghost or a spirit or whatever, I'm not supposed to be able to see her, right? But I can, so she can't be one." I turned towards the girl, "You just _can't!_"

"Onii-chan is right. What else can I be? Some random girl who can somehow stick her arm through your stomach? And it's not just my arm either. I can walk right through you if you want me to…"

I shivered. "No, that's okay. Your arm was enough, thank you very much!"

"So do you believe that I'm a spirit now?"

"No! That idea is just plain preposterous!"

"It ceases to be preposterous after a while… You'll get used to it." I turned back towards Kurosaki. "At first you think that it's not possible, that it just _can't_ be possible. You're seeing people that others can't. You're talking to and interacting with people who don't exist for others. But then you realize that there's nothing you can do about it. You just have to accept it. And come on, she stuck her whole arm through your body! I'm guessing that you felt the iciness? That's a trademark feeling of when spirits touch you."

I couldn't do anything but stare at them, eyes shifting between the two. I was unable, perhaps unwilling, to accept that the girl standing in front of me was a spirit. It defied everything that I knew to be true in this world. It made me feel like I was going insane. And who wouldn't, what with being able to see and talk to people that no one else could!

But when I looked closer at her, I realized that she was paler, more transparent, than a normal human girl, and had a waist-length chain attached to her chest. All this, combined with the earlier arm-through-stomach episode, ultimately convinced me that what they were saying was actually true. I could do nothing, but to finally accept that there was more to this world than what I had originally thought.

"But why can I suddenly see spirits? I mean, I've never seen anyone like her before, but she can't be the only one in this town…"

Kurosaki shrugged, "It's probably been happening for a while, you just never noticed. The ability to see spirits doesn't just pop up overnight."

I frowned as something clicked inside my head. Over the past few months, I had been noticing shimmers as I walked around the town, as if there were very faint shadows of people just outside my line of vision. Sometimes, I could swear that I heard a faint whisper and a metallic rattling sound accompanying them. But when I tried to get a closer look, nothing was there.

_And here I thought I needed to get my eyes checked…_

"Anyways, let me introduce the two of you…"

After a while, Kurosaki and I got up to leave, promising to come visit her again. As we walked away, I turned towards him. "Since when could you--"

"See and talk to spirits? Ever since I was little. It took me a long time to realize that they were just spirits and not real people."

"Do you know anyone else that can see them?"

"My younger sister, Karin."

"That's pretty cool…" I grinned as I teased him, "Well, I guess that even if I _am _going insane, at least I know that there are other crazy people right there with me!"

"Urusai…"

I laughed. "I gotta go. See you later Kurosaki!"

_--End Flashback--_

_**A/N: **__So there you have Shirataki Rika, my OC. This story is basically going to be a retelling of Bleach, but from her POV. This first chapter starts out a bit slowly, but hopefully you guys will find the next couple of chapters more interesting._

_Also, big thanks to Inazuma Akai who's just recently agreed to be my beta. I look forward to working with you! _

_Anyways, what did you guys think? Reviews/comments/constructive criticisms are always loved as they inspire me to grow as a writer!_


	2. The Beginning of the End

_**Disclaimer: **__The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Chapter 2: The Beginning of the End

It was a perfectly normal morning. The sun was shining as usual, the sky was just as blue as it was yesterday, and the birds were chirping away. Nothing suggested that this was the day my life was going to change forever.

Things were normal up until I walked out of the bakery with a cup of coffee in one hand and a doughnut in the other. Then I heard it; that loud, hair-raising roar followed by a girl's piercing scream. Sounds that signaled the beginning of the end, I just didn't know it then.

"Shirataki!" I turned around to see Kurosaki running towards me. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah… what do you think--"

The rest of my sentence was cut off as something seemed to explode from the alleyway in front of us and people started screaming. A girl, that spirit Kurosaki and I sometimes visited, came running out towards us from the dust, fear clearly written across her face. I looked around for the cause of her fear. The doughnut fell from my nerveless hand and onto the ground.

Behind her was a huge, brown, mantis-like monster wearing a white mask with purple markings on it. When it swung around and fixed its evil little, slitted, green eyes on us, I saw that it had a hole in the middle of its body. Not only was the thing huge, it also had six legs, not including the two giant scythe-like front legs that I was sure was not there just for show.

"R-Run!"

We didn't get very far before the girl tripped and fell. Kurosaki tried to help her up, but the monster was looming ever closer. My body decided to act without my permission and ran out into the street, away from Kurosaki and the girl.

"Oy! You mantis wanna-be! Look over here!" I yelled as I tossed my cup of coffee at it, surprised that my voice wasn't shaking. "Coffee delivery!"

The monster turned just as the hot coffee hit it in the face. With another deafening roar, it changed directions and started charging towards me. I froze, and as time seemed to slow down, my mind finally registered what was happening.

Good news, Kurosaki and the girl were safe. Bad news, I had just tossed my much needed caffeine at a huge monster of unknown origins, and said monster obviously did not appreciate perfectly good coffee since it seemed quite intent on having me for breakfast. My day was totally not starting out well, and from the looks of those huge glistening teeth, didn't seem like it was going to end well. Through the cloud of fear engulfing my frantic mind, I vaguely wondered if I could interest it in a doughnut instead of me.

Just when I was about to close my eyes and pray for a quick painless death, a black and silver blur suddenly appeared between me and the monster. It was a girl, and with two quick slashes of her sword, the monster was dead and its body disappearing.

I blinked in surprise. "Uh…"

_Brilliant, Rika, really brilliant… someone saves your life and all you can say is "Uh…"?_

"Hey!" I heard Kurosaki shout from behind me as he ran up. I turned towards him.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks to you and your coffee. How about you?"

"I'm fine. That girl saved me." I replied as I turned to thank her, but she had disappeared. "Where'd she go..?"

"No clue. Any idea who she was?"

I shook my head.

As we looked around for the mysterious girl, people started to come out from their hiding places and gather around, asking each other what had just happened, wondering if it was an explosion. I looked at Kurosaki.

"Guess they couldn't see it."

"Guess not." He glanced at his watch. "Oh no…we're going to be late! Come on!"

By the time I reached my classroom, class had already started, and so I got treated to a lecture from Sensei about the importance of being on time.

My day didn't improve from there. I was continuously distracted throughout all my classes by images flashing through my head from earlier that morning: evil green eyes glaring out of a white mask, rows of sharp teeth glistening with ill-intent, giant scythe-like legs poised to strike, and a huge brown body with a hole in the middle. What was it? Where had it come from? Why could it see the spirit? Why couldn't other people see it? Who was the girl that saved me? These endless questions swam around in my head, perplexingly, mystifyingly, confusingly, bewilderingly, all unanswerable.

When lunchtime came around, I had to deal with questions from the girls. Why was I late? Someone said that they had seen me arriving with Kurosaki, was it true? Why did I arrive with him? Was something going on between us? Gasp! Were we doing the hanky-panky?? That was the last question my caffeine-deprived nerves could stand. I stood up and left without a word, fearing that if I opened my mouth, I would snap at them to keep their noses out of my business and to stop looking for gossip where there was none.

Tatsuki and Orihime eventually found me on the roof where I was leaning against the fence, trying to let the wind blow away my sense of foreboding and calm the feverish whirl of questions in my mind. Tatsuki tossed a can of coffee at me. I caught and drained it in 8 seconds flat. Almost immediately, I could feel the caffeine entering my system, batting away the approaching headache.

"How'd you know I was up here and to bring coffee?"

Orihime smiled. "You like to stand in the wind whenever you're upset, and it blows strongest up here."

"Besides, you're always tense and easy to upset when you haven't had your morning coffee." added Tatsuki.

I could only smirk and shake my head, marveling at the fact that even though they'd only known me for a year, they knew me pretty well.

Orihime tilted her head and looked me in the eye. "What's bothering you Rika-chan?"

"Aside from the lack of caffeine, of course…" quipped Tatsuki, as she leaned against the fence next to me. "You usually don't get bothered when Michiru and Mahana ask those questions of theirs. Though I have to admit, they did go a bit far this time… hanky-panky… Sheesh!"

I opened my mouth to tell them, but shut it again. They wouldn't believe me, and to tell the truth, who would? Who would believe that I was almost eaten by a giant, mantis-like monster that no one else could see? Even I was having a hard time believing that it wasn't just some surreal dream or weird hallucination, but the fact that Kurosaki saw it too was proof enough that it wasn't.

I lied. "Didn't sleep too well last night due to a bad dream. Then this morning, when I was buying breakfast, there was an unexplained explosion in town. Kurosaki was there too, that's why the two of us arrived together."

"Oh! I also had a bad dream last night! I dreamt that different flavored ice-creams were chasing me and then--" started Orihime.

"That's probably because of all those weird toppings you put on them." Tatsuki teased her.

"But it tastes good that way! You guys should try it sometime."

Tatsuki and I shared a look. "That's okay… we'll just take your word for it."

"But—"

"No buts! How you can eat all those weird sweet things is beyond me…" said Tatsuki as she shook her head at Orihime.

As I listened to my two best friends debate the healthiness of eating sweets all the time, I couldn't help but smile, causing a little bit of the tension within to melt away.

When I finally got home after school, Teison was waiting by the door. "You're late."

"Yeah... sorry about that, went to get ice-cream with Tatsuki and Orihime." I held out the cup. "Want some?"

"Yes!" He took a huge scoop and happily popped it into his mouth. "Strawberry, again?"

"Duh... It's always going to be my favorite. You're never going to be able to convert me over to... What was that really sweet one you liked? Moose tracks or something?" I made a face. "Way to sweet for me, I don't get why you like it."

Teison stuck out his tongue.

"I like sweet stuff!" He finished licking the ice cream off of his spoon. "Oh! Mom said to tell you that she and dad won't be home until late tonight. Dad surprised her and is taking her out for their anniversary dinner."

I looked at him and grinned. "You know what that means right?"

"Dinner out and then the arcade!"

"Yep! We'll head out after finishing our homework. Remember, the earlier you finish, the more free time you'll have…" I laughed as Teison ran off to get his homework and within a few hours we were heading out.

It was late by the time we left the arcade, laughing at all the silly pictures we took. I had almost put the events from the morning out of my mind, and as we turned onto our street, was about to dismiss the monster as a one-time event.

Then I heard it again, that blood-curdling roar. A sound that had hunted me for most of the day. A sound that I had desperately wanted to forget; forget that I ever heard it, forget what it belonged to. I hadn't ever wanted to hear that roar again, hadn't ever wanted to see what that roar came from.

Fate obviously had other plans for me.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Chapters 2 and 3 were supposed to be one chapter, but when I actually transferred it from my head onto paper, it turned out to be too long for one chapter. So you now have a semi-cliffy. What did you guys think? Reviews/comments/constructive criticisms are always loved as they inspire me to grow as a writer. Again, thanks go out to Inazuma Akai for betaing!  
_


	3. The End of the Beginning

_**Disclaimer: **__The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Chapter 3: The End of the Beginning

The first roar had barely faded away before another one followed. This time it was louder.

I froze and grabbed Teison by the shoulder. "Teison, listen to me. Run home as fast as you can. Don't look back, and no matter what happens, don't come out."

"What's wrong? You were laughing just a second ago..."

I squatted down and looked him in the eye, just now realizing that he had grown a bit taller. "Nothing's wrong. I'll be right behind you, alright? It'll be fine..."

_Liar..._

Another echoing roar. It was closing in.

"We're just running back home because it's late. How about this, we'll have a race. First one home gets chocolate, okay?"

"Okay…"

He still looked unsure as I gave him a hug and stood up. "Ready? GO!"

Teison took the lead, and I was careful to keep myself behind him. I knew that we couldn't hide in the house; if this monster was anything like the one from this morning, it could easily punch a hole in the house. Somehow, I had to keep it away from Teison.

We were in front of the house, the garage door was opening, and Teison was heading in when I saw the shadowed, hulking form at the end of the street.

"Go inside, and don't come out, no matter what. Got it?"

"Rika--"

"Just get inside!" I shouted at him.

I could see the monster clearly now; it looked like a scorpion standing on two legs. Two giant pincers were raised above its head. Except for the hole in its chest, its entire body was covered in black and reddish-brown bony armor. Worst of all, it had a scorpion's long, segmented tail, stinger included. The monster was also wearing a white mask, but this one had red markings on it. Evil yellow eyes focused on me as it let out another deafening roar.

Desperately looking around for something to fend it off, my eyes landed on the set of golf clubs nearby. I grabbed it with trembling hands and ran out into the street, towards the monster, determined to keep it as far away from the house, and Teison, as possible.

It charged, mouth wide open. I leapt to the side, grabbed a club out of the bag, and swung at it with all my might, hoping to drive it away. The club broke.

Staring at it, I almost missed the pincer coming in from the left. I dodged, but immediately felt a sharp, crushing pain in my right leg as I crumpled onto the ground. When I looked over, I realized that I had forgotten that it had two pincers, and was now seriously paying for it as blood poured out of the deep gashes on my crushed thigh.

The pincers came down again. I could do nothing but keep rolling to dodge the blows hailed down by its claws, biting back screams that wanted to erupt whenever I rolled onto my right. Suddenly, something wrapped around my neck and hoisted me up into the air. I howled in pain as the broken bones of my thigh shifted and grated against each other. When I could open my eyes, I was eye to eye with the monster, held tight by its tail. Slowly, it tightened its hold, choking the air out of me. Black dots started to swim around my vision as I struggled, unable to do anything.

"Leave my sister alone!"

_NO!_

Something whistled by my ear and hit the monster in the left eye. It staggered in pain and promptly dropped me, which was great, except for the fact that I landed on my right leg.

I screamed again.

"Rika! What happened? What hurt you?" A hand was shaking my shoulder.

_NO! TEISON! NO! I told you to stay inside! I told you to stay safe!_

"Go… back…" I managed to gasp as I battled away the pain.

He sounded like he was fighting back tears. "No! Something out here is hurting you! I don't know what's happening, but I want to help. Please Rika, I can't stay inside while you're getting hurt…"

The monster was still staggering around in pain, its tail failing.

"Fine… get me… my golf… clubs… Then go… grab the… garden shears… from the… back… for me… Don't run with them!" My mind vaguely registered the fact that maybe now was not the best time to lecture him about sharp objects and safety.

Teison handed me a bunch of my clubs, then started to run back towards the house to get the shears. There was another loud roar from behind me. Time slowed down, everything seemed to be in slow motion; powerless to do anything, I saw the tail fly towards the running figure, saw it connect, saw Teison flying through the air, saw him landing five feet away from me.

Time sped up again.

"TEISON!" I crawled as fast as I could towards him, gritting my teeth against the pain.

I shook his shoulder. "Teison!" No response.

"Oh, please, no… Teison! Come on… wake up! Teison!"

Nothing.

Helpless despair washed over me. I shouldn't have listened to him. I should have made him go back immediately. I should have been stronger, should have been able to protect him. If I was, this wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't be lying on the ground in front of me, dea—

_NO! Unconscious... just unconscious... He has to be..._

A shadow fell over me. I looked up to see the monster with its teeth bared, as if it was grinning. All the anguish turned into rage. White-hot anger washed over me, wave after wave. This monstrosity, this _thing_, hurt me, hurt my little brother. This _thing _was the reason why Teison's lying there unconscious. This _thing_, was trying to kill us. How dare it! What did we ever do to it to deserve this? Why did it want to kill us? What fucking _right_ did it have to kill us?

Somehow, I managed to stand up. It was as if all that anger was blocking out the pain, as if it had erased the pain. As I walked towards the monster, I noticed that the wind had picked up and was swirling around me, heightening my senses, quickening my reactions. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the monster's claws coming towards me in another pincer-attack.

_Trying the same tactic again? I don't think so you idiot! _

I jumped up and landed on its arm. Acting on pure adrenaline, I ran towards its head, grasping golf clubs in each hand. Its body may be covered in hard, impenetrable armor, but unknowingly, Teison had shown me its weakness: the eyes.

I raised the clubs and stabbed harder than I had ever stabbed at anything before.

"Don't mess with my brother, you bastard! Only I get to do that!"

The clubs connected with the eye, there was a slight resistance. Then I heard a pop and felt liquid splash onto me as the monster reeled back, roaring in pain. I had popped its right eye, which meant that the liquid running down my arms and face was…

_EW!_

Combined with the reeling of the monster, my split-second loss of concentration caused me to be thrown from the monster's shoulder and towards the ground. I threw out my left hand in an attempt to cushion the fall. Bad idea… I felt something in my shoulder tear and heard the audible snap of my left arm breaking.

Pain. Lots and lots and lots of pain. Whereas my vision before had been a cloud of darkness from all that anger, it was now red. Blood red. Someone was screaming. Was it Teison? Had he regained conscious? But why was he screaming? Was the damage on my arm so bad that it scared him? I had to fight the pain then, so I didn't frighten him. I bit my lips and the screaming stopped. Only then did I realize that I was the one screaming.

Above me, the monster was reeling around, blooding pouring out of its eye socket, the other eye shut tight in pain. I could almost feel sorry for it… then the failing tail came towards me, forcing me to roll to the left. Another scream tore out of my throat as weight was put on my broken arm and shoulder.

_I take back what I said. I am not even close to feeling sorry for you. In fact, I hope you're in immense pain, too._

The tail kept failing around, forcing me to keep on rolling despite the pain, incapable of doing anything else. My right leg was completely mangled, and my left arm was broken, not to mention the torn shoulder. I paused to catch my breath, and before I could react, the monster's tail had swept in from the right and sent me flying through the air. The ground rushing up to meet me as I landed on my back, coughing up blood, no energy left to even scream.

_Oh... this isn't good... Nope, not good at all._

Having recovered from the pain of losing an eye, the monster stomped up to me and once again picked me up by the neck with its tail, squeezing the life out of me. Well, whatever life I had left at that point. Shadows swam around me again, dulling my pain, tempting me to drift away into it. I had no strength left to fight back.

_I'm sorry Teison… I couldn't protect you… I tried, but it wasn't good enough. I'm sorry… I really am--_

A whistling sound reached my ears as a red haze shone through the darkness clouding my vision. I heard the monster let out a dying roar, and felt myself fall. Expecting to hit the ground again, I was surprised when I landed in what felt like someone's arms. Of course, that still didn't really lessen the pain in my right leg and left side when pressure was put on them. A weak scream worked its way out of me.

"Shh… you're alright now. It's okay… everything is going to be fine." An unfamiliar voice came from above me.

I managed to open my mouth. "My brother... Teison... he..."

"Your brother is fine. He was just knocked unconscious, nothing compared to you."

Despite the pain, I felt relief rush through me at hearing that Teison was okay. Struggling to see through the darkness clouding my vision, I made out a pair of shadowed gray eyes.

"Who… you…?"

The last thing I heard before passing out was a slight chuckle.

"Who indeed…"

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Kudos to those who can guess who just entered the scene. It shouldn't be too hard. I amused myself with the titles of these two chapters; kind of like mirror reflections. What did you guys think? Reviews/comments/constructive criticisms are much loved as they inspire me to grow as a writer! _


	4. What's Going On?

_**Disclaimer: **__The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Chapter 4: What's Going On??

Blurred scenes swam at the edge of my consciousness as I drifted in and out of the darkness that night; a green glow surrounding my body, glasses glinting in concentration, a hand clasping mine, concerned gray eyes looking down at me, and the murmur of comforting words reaching my ears whenever I whimpered in pain. Eventually, it all faded away as I floated off on the peaceful waves of painless sleep.

Emerging from the warm cocoon of drowsiness the next morning, the first thing my sleep-logged brain registered was that I must still be alive since there was an irritating, tickling sensation on my nose. Wanting to return to dreamland, I scrunched up my nose and shook my head, only to hear giggling come from above me. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and stared straight into two giant, brown eyes.

"GAH!" I shot up from the bed, instantly regretting the sudden action as my left arm throbbed. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Teison looked up innocently from the floor where he had fallen, "I just wanted to see if you were awake…"

I raised my eyebrows, "By tickling my nose with _that_?"

"Oh… this…" He glanced down at the feather in his hand, then back up at me with a nervous grin. "Uh… yes?"

"Shirataki Teison! Didn't we tell you to leave your sister alone and let her rest?" My parents had just entered the room.

"But mom…"

Mom fixed her glare on him. "But what?"

"Nothing!" was the quick reply as he jumped onto the bed and hid behind me.

_Note to self: Take glaring lessons from mother_

Dad winked at me. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess." I said as I tentatively touched the sling on my left arm. "It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would."

"That's good isn't it?"

"Yeah…" I bit my lower lip. "But I don't feel anything in my leg. There's no pain or anything. Is it… is it alright?"

I gripped the blankets tightly, afraid to hear the answer.

"When Doctor Kurosaki first saw the bruise on your leg, he was worried that there might have been some internal bleeding or damage to the bone. Turns out it's fine. Course, it'll take a while for that bruise to fade away."

I frowned in confusion. A bruise? I had felt my leg being crushed, felt the broken bones grating against each other. The mangled mess from last night barely looked like a leg, much less a simple bruise. How could it be fine now?

Disbelievingly, I flipped open the blankets to take a look at my right leg. Astoundingly, all that met my eyes was a big, purple bruise. There was barely any sign of it having been crushed and covered in blood last night. The only thing that proved that it had been more serious than a mere bruise was the small, slightly raised scar I felt when I ran my fingers over the bruise.

Dad continued, "So aside from that left arm and a few bruises around your ribcage and leg, you seem to be okay. I guess those thugs were satisfied with just breaking your arm."

"Thugs??" Now I was really confused. Where in the world had _that _come from?

Mom looked worried. "Don't you remember what happened last night?"

Of course I did. How could I possibly forget? But what the hell did thugs have to do with that horrible monster?

I decided to play along. "Yeah, but I ended up passing out. I don't know what happened afterwards."

From the jumbled accounts the three of them gave, it seemed like Teison and I were attacked by a group of gangsters last night. In an attempt to protect Teison, I took all the blows and ended up losing consciousness when they finished. Moments later, my parents came back home from their night out, and immediately summoned Doctor Kurosaki over to treat my injuries.

Doctor Kurosaki? I had met that bearded weirdo before and I was pretty sure that I hadn't seen him while drifting in and out of it last night. He didn't have gray eyes, nor did he wear glasses. So who were those people? And why did all three of them seem to believe that I was attacked by gangsters? What the heck was going on here?

Mom interrupted my inner whirl of questions. "You haven't offended anyone at school have you? Is there someone who would send gangsters after you?"

_Well… when that one guy called Kurosaki a poser and made a crude comment about Orihime, I did call him an ignorant idiot who needed to have his mouth shut for him since he obviously didn't know how to do it himself. But compared to what Tatsuki and Kurosaki did before I could get to him, I'm pretty sure the guy was too busy to form a grudge against me… _

"Of course not! Why would anyone dislike me?"

"You _do _tend have quite a sharp tongue when angered…"

_Not my fault this world has so many shallow, stuck-up, idiotic twits, who desperately need to have their heads deflated for them…_

"Seeing that you're alright," interjected Dad. "I need to get work since it's almost noon and--"

"What do you mean it's almost noon?!" I grabbed my clock, "Oh crud! Why didn't you guys wake me up earlier?"

My parents exchanged a surprised look.

"We thought you could take a day off school due to your injuries. Why are you complaining?"

"I'm not!"

They both stared at me with raised eyebrows. Teison was looking at me like I had grown a second head.

"Okay, maybe I am… but that's not the point! I have a test in physics today, I don't wanna miss that!"

"I'm sure they'll let you take it at another time."

"But I hate physics! Having to waste even _more_ time on it is just… ugh, no thanks!"

While my desire to avoid any more studying was real, the actual reason I wanted to go to school today was to talk to Kurosaki about what had happened the past couple of days. Maybe he had learned what those monster things were, or he could at least help me sort out the confusion that was currently making quite a racket in the box I had locked it into.

After much argument, many reassurances that I would be careful, and many more comments from Teison about my sanity (or lack of thereof), Dad finally agreed to drop me off at school on his way to work. As I got out of the car, he handed me a bottle.

"These are your meds. Take a pill every hour."

I stared at the bottle in my hand, or more specifically, at the picture of a skull and crossbones on it.

"Err… are you sure the doctor didn't accidentally give me poison instead of medicine?"

"Don't worry, if you die, we'll be sure to use it on the rats instead." was my father's oh so reassuring response as he drove off.

_Gee, I wonder where I got my sense of humor from…_

Glaring at the shrinking dot that was the car, I turned and walked onto school grounds, heading for the tree Tatsuki, Orihime and I usually ate lunch under. It didn't take me long to register that the boys had decided to join us for lunch today.

"Riiiiiiika! What happened to you? You're all beat up! But not to worry! Even with that cast, you still sparkle like the beautiful gem that— mmph!"

"Thanks Tatsuki."

"No problem." She replied, foot firmly planted on Asano's back. "So exactly what happened? Your parents didn't really tell us anything when we stopped by your house this morning."

Shrugging slightly, I quickly gave them the condensed, gangster-ized version of what happened last night.

Orihime gasped. "But why would they do that to you Rika-chan? You never did anything to them. Beating you up like that wasn't very nice at all!"

"Well," a wry smirk made its way across my face. "They probably weren't very nice people to begin with…"

"Daijoubu?"

I turned around, only to come face to face with the ironed white shirt that made up part of the school uniform. Stepping back, I shifted my gaze upwards to see Chad's face.

_Ow… crick in neck, ow… Is it any wonder why I hate being short…?_

"Un! Daijoubu. " I lowered my head and muttered under my breath, "But now my neck isn't…"

"You know, it's kind of weird that it happened to you yesterday though…" Kojima started as I turned towards him, rubbing my neck. "Did you hear? A truck ran into Ichigo's house last night."

"What?!?" It was then that I realized I hadn't seen Kurosaki yet. "Is he alright? Is that why he's not here?"

Asano looked around curiously. "Eh?!?… I swear he came down to lunch with us… Where'd he go?"

"Bathroom maybe," Tatsuki shrugged as she started to unwrap her lunch. "Anyways, according to Ichigo, no one was hurt. He was just late to school."

"That's good to hear…" I frowned slightly at the coincidence of a truck running into Kurosaki's house the same night I was supposedly attacked by gangsters. Was it merely _just_ chance? Somehow, I didn't think it was that simple. This only served to strengthen my certainty that Doctor Kurosaki wasn't the one who had helped me last night and that something had messed with my family's memories. Storing the rising confusion and worry away, I turned to the rest of the group.

"I'm gonna get some juice. You guys want any?"

At the negative shakes of their heads, I headed to the back of the school, towards the vending machines. As I approached the corner, the unexpected sound of Kurosaki's exasperated voice reached my ears.

"--job over? Why are you in my class? Didn't you go back to that soul society place?"

I paused mid-step, brow wrinkled in puzzlement.

_Soul society? What's he talking about?_

A voice that I didn't recognize cut across his.

"You fool! Only shinigami can return to soul society. Right now, I am not able to return there."

_Shinigami? Soul Society?_

Deciding that eavesdropping wasn't going to get me any answers, I rounded the corner. "Kurosaki, want to tell me what's go--"

I choked on my words as I caught sight of the girl Kurosaki had been talking to.

Looking back at it now, I suppose I could have reacted better… but the confusion I had locked away up till then, decided to burst out of its box right at that moment, and I could only sputter out one word.

"Y-YOU?!"

* * *

_**A/N: **(Hides)__ I know that I haven't updated in a long time. Sorry! But I do have good reasons... Firstly, my right hand died from pseudo carpal tunnel. I couldn't type, much less hold a bloody pencil. I tried writing with my left hand, but didn't get very much done. Secondly, I had to fly over to the East Coast and start another year of college. Today, after classes, I rushed back and got this finished up and edited. So don't kill me! Please...?_

_Anyways, it's not really a cliffy since you all know who it is, but it was getting long, so I just cut it off here. Also editted the ending of this chapter, so I'm much happier with it now. Not as happy as I could be because this chapter dislikes me, but happier. Reviews make my day, so tell me what you guys thought! ANYTHING (what you liked, what you didn't like, what I could do better) will be helpful and very much appreciated. Also, I'm still looking for a beta._


	5. Of Shinigami and Hollows

_**Disclaimer: **__The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Chapter 5: Of Shinigami and Hollows

The sword was nowhere in sight, nothing was intent on having me for breakfast, and a standard Karakura High uniform had replaced the black kimono and hakama, but there was no mistaking the girl standing in front of me. That was the same diminutive form which had appeared in my life in a flash of black and silver, the same serious face vaguely tinged with shadows of superiority, and the same dark purple eyes that had glanced coldly and dispassionately at me the morning before.

"What--" My confused eyes flicked between the mysterious girl and Kurosaki, seeking out an answer to the question my shocked mind was struggling to form. "Who--"

A high-pitched voice interrupted my attempts at speaking.

"Oh! You must be one of Kurosaki-kun's friends! I'm honored to make your acquaintance." The girl curtsied, "I'm Kuchiki Rukia, the new transfer student in Kurosaki-kun's class."

I furrowed my brow. "But you're that girl from yesterday, the one who killed the monster attacking us. How can you…?"

Purple eyes widened slightly before the mask of sickening sweet politeness dropped back down. "Whatever do you mean? A monster? Are you feeling alright—OW!"

Rubbing the back of her head, she turned furiously towards Kurosaki. "What was that for?!?"

"Cut the cheap acting. Shirataki can see souls just as well as I can. She's seen you in your shinigami form, so just stop pretending that you have no idea what she's talking about. And what do you mean you can't go back to Soul Society?"

I felt a headache building up as I listened to Kurosaki talk. "Wait, wait, wait! Souls? Shinigami? Soul Society? Stop talking gibberish and tell me what's going on!"

Kuchiki Rukia shook her head as she addressed Kurosaki. "I cannot tell a mere human about us. I have already broken the rules by telling you about Soul Society last night. If she has indeed seen me in my shinigami form, I must erase her memory, for it is none of her business."

"But--"

"No!" My right hand shot out to grab the front of her shirt as something in me snapped, "You do _not_ get to erase my memory. You do _not_ get to pretend that all that's happened to me in the past twenty-four hours never happened. None of my business? I was attacked by those monsters _twice_! The first time, I could try to ignore it, shove it to the back of my mind and write it off as a one-time fluke. But the second time, when I had to lay there in pain, unable to do anything but watch my brother get hurt… I can't just forget that… I can't just let it go…"

The wind was picking up again as I glared into her eyes, voice sinking down to a controlled whisper.

"What am I supposed to do when you erase my memory? Go on with my life not knowing that I or my family or friends are in danger until we're actually attacked?!? Attacked by some monstrous thing that only I can see and hear? Am I supposed to keep reliving the horror of last night? Being unable to protect those I care for, and having to rely on total strangers who may or may not be able to arrive in time to save us? Am I expected to go through all that again and again, only to have my memories erased and replaced with some made up, preposterous version of what actually happened?!?"

I pushed her away, breathing heavily. "You have got to be kidding me if you think that I'm going to let you do that to me. You've got to be out of your mind to think that it's none of my business."

A hand came down on my tense shoulder.

Looking up, I saw Kurosaki's concerned face looking down at me. "Calm down… I won't let her erase your memory." His ever present frown deepened as his eyes flickered down to the cast on my left arm, "But what happened? You were attacked again?"

Nodding, I started to recount all that had occurred last night

"...Then there was this whistling sound, and the next thing I know, the monster is dead and someone's telling me that it's all going to be alright."

Kuchiki Rukia fixed her eyes on me intently. "What did this person look like? I don't know of any other shinigami on duty in this town, and it obviously wasn't me as I was busy saving that idiot."

Some of my resentment for the girl faded away as I watched Kurosaki puff up with indignation, but my amusement was short lived as I considered Kuchiki's question.

"I had lost a lot of blood by then, so I didn't get a good look at him. All I saw were gray eyes before I passed out." I scratched my head. "Oh, and this medicine was left behind for me to take."

I pulled out the weird bottle while addressing Kurosaki. "My parents seem to be under the impression that your father was the one who prescribed it for me."

"My dad?" Kurosaki looked confused. "He wasn't even home last night."

"Yeah, I didn't think it was him either." I turned towards Kuchiki. "Do you recognize it?"

Rubbing her chin as she stared at the bottle, Kuchiki shook her head. "That's just the standard medicine issued to all shinigami… But the thing that bothers me most is that it sounds like your family's memories were replaced, yet you still remember everything. It's very odd…" Her eyes narrowed in thought. "Why don't you come with me to Urahara's after school and we'll see if we can figure out what happened?"

"Okay… but until then, could someone please tell me what the _hell_ is going on first?"

What followed was a seemingly unbelievable retelling of what happened to Kurosaki last night and my introduction to the world of shinigami and hollows.

"...have but barely any abilities left," finished Kuchiki. "I can't go back, and so until my powers return, he will take over my shinigami duties."

"AH?!?" was Kurosaki's eloquent response.

"Of course, you're the one that has the shinigami powers now. I will assist you, of course. Also, you have no right to refuse since you were--"

"I refuse!"

Silence.

"...What?"

"I said I refuse! I'm not fighting those monsters ever again!"

"W-Wait! Yesterday--"

"Yesterday, I was only able to fight because my family was in danger. I ain't fighting monsters like that for total strangers! I'm not..."

The two of them were so caught up in their bickering that they didn't notice when I turned and walked away. Head spinning with all the new information, I let my feet take me wherever they wanted to go as I contemplated all that I had heard.

"_In this world, there are two types of spirits. One is called plus and is the most common spirit. The ghosts you usually see are these. The other type is called hollows and these attack living and dead beings alike and eat their souls. Usually, they target souls with high spiritual concentration, which is probably why you were attacked last night. Any questions so far?"_

"_Um…"_

"_She's probably confused by your abysmal drawin—ACK! NOT AGAIN!"_

_I chuckled at Kuchiki's handiwork. "Nice whiskers Kurosaki… Doesn't match your hair though…"_

"_Urusai!"_

_Grinning, I turned back towards Kuchiki. "What did you mean when you said souls with high reiryoku?"_

"_I mean people like you and Ichigo, people who can see spirits and shinigami, even though only those who are dead should be able to see them."_

"_Oh…" I paused. "What's a shinigami?"_

_She pointed to herself. "I am a shinigami. You can usually identify one through the black uniform we all wear, called the shihakusho, and our swords, which we call zanpakutou. All shinigami come from Soul Society, which can be likened to what you humans call heaven. We have two duties: one is to guide pluses to Soul Society with soul burial, and the other is to extinguish hollows, both of which require the use of one's zanpakutou. In an attempt to save Ichigo's life last night, I had to transfer some of my shinigami powers to him, but rather unfortunately, he managed to take almost all my powers. I have but barely any abilities left…"_

Life had already been interesting enough without knowing about shinigami and hollows, but now with them added into the mix… well, interesting, just didn't cut it. From what Kuchiki said, it sounded like only shinigami would be able to get rid of hollows, but how exactly did one become a shinigami? Kurosaki only became one because Kuchiki transferred her shinigami powers to him, but with all her powers drained, she obviously wouldn't be able to do the same for me now. Which was bad, because I would probably be attacked again due to my… "high spiritual concentration" or, whatever…

I balled my hands into fists. There had to be another way for me to become a shinigami, or else I wouldn't be able to protect my friends and family. My fight with the hollow last night only served to prove exactly how weak I was compared to those monsters. My years of martial arts and karate hadn't helped at all. I obviously couldn't protect Teison last night, which mean that I wouldn't be able to protect anyone else. I was powerless…

A gentle gust of wind brushed against my face, causing me to look up. Without noticing it, my feet had automatically led me up to the rooftop. Leaning against the fence, I lowered my head as my eyebrows knit together, eyes closed in concentration.

There just had to be some way to protect them, some way for me to fight against those hollows. The only reason Teison and I were still alive was because some mysterious stranger had showed up in time to kill the hollows, but I couldn't rely on strangers to come and save us every time. It was my responsibility to protect the people I cared for, not anyone else's. Maybe this was why I could see spirits, so that I could stop these hollows from hurting those around me…

_But how?_

My fingers carded their way through my bangs and pulled, channeling my inner turmoil into physical pain.

All this desire to protect my loved ones, the desire to get revenge on those hollows for daring to attack me and my family, the desire to keep them as safe as possible… all of it was useless if I didn't have the power to carry it out. I had to get stronger, but my mind kept on circling back to the same unanswerable question: how?

The cool breeze swirled around me, clearing my head and breaking me out of the endless circle of thoughts and questions. There was no way I was going to be able to come up with an answer with the limited amount of information I had, and standing up here on the roof, pulling my hair out was certainly not going to help. Nodding to myself, I decided that I would ask Kuchiki for help this afternoon.

But before that, I had to come up with a convincing story as to why buying a simple can of juice had taken up a good twenty minutes.

/-/-/

Kuchiki was waiting for me at the school gates after school, but I didn't see any sign of the other orange-headed teenager as I approached.

"Kurosaki's not coming?"

"No, I'm planning on picking up something from Urahara's shop that should help him train, so I told him to go home and rest first."

"I see…"

We had walked several blocks in silence, the two of us lost in our own thoughts, before I finally managed to work up the nerve and turned towards her.

"Ano… about earlier this morning…" her eyes slid up towards me from her phone. "I'm sorry about the whole grabbing and yelling at you thing… I shouldn't have lost control of myself like that."

"It's alright. I suppose that I too, was out of place to suggest replacing your memory when it was obvious you were significantly affected by what happened."

"Let's start this off properly then." I grinned and extended my hand, "Shirataki Rika, at your service."

Purple eyes looked up at me in amusement as she took my hand. "Kuchiki Rukia, please to make your acquaintance."

It took me a couple of blocks to bring up the topic that had been bothering me for most of the day.

"Hey, Kuchiki-san…"

"Mmm?" She was focused on the phone in her hands.

"Only shinigami can kill hollows right?"

"Mhmm…"

"How do you become a shinigami?"

She cast me a curious look. "You attend the shinigami academy, take a graduating exam, and get recruited by the Gotei 13…"

"And this shinigami academy is in that Soul Society place, right?"

"Yes…"

I looked at her with my head tilted slightly to the side. "How do you get there?"

"...You have to die." She turned her head to look me in the eye. "All shinigami are those who have already died and gone to Soul Society."

My steps faltered. "But Kurosaki--"

"Is only borrowing my powers…" A shadow seemed to flicker over her face. "He isn't considered an actual shinigami."

"Oh…" I silently mulled over what she had just told me, coming to a conclusion I didn't really want to acknowledge, but had to anyway.

"So then, I'll have to die…" It was more of a statement than a question.

Kuchiki stopped walking and stared at me. "Wait, that's not what--"

I cut across her in what was hopefully a dispassionate voice. "If there is no way for me to protect them, my presence will just put the people around me in danger. My dea--"

Taking a deep breath, I turned away and let my voice carry to her over my shoulder.

"My death will remove that threat while allowing me to watch over them."

I would have patted myself on the back for managing to keep my voice from cracking again had it not been for the heavy boulder of dread that had firmly lodged itself in my gut. Not knowing what else to do, I fixed my gaze on the horizon and continued walking, Kuchiki's stare burning into my back.

"The pattering of her running feet faded away as she caught up to me, only to be replaced by the tense silence that fell between the two of us. Her matter-of-fact voice was first to break the silence.

"...You're trembling." She hadn't even needed to turn around to look at me.

My grip tightened around my book bag's strap, futilely trying to stop the shaking. "Yeah, well, I rather liked my life… Hadn't really thought to pull out the calendar and pick out a date for my death." I let out a bitter chuckle. "That's what you get for not planning ahead, ne?"

"Ichigo and I can always--"

"I can't rely on other people to protect my friends and family, not when it's my fault they're in danger! I can't accept letting other people settle my scores for me!" I shook my head, and lowered my voice when I realized I was yelling. "I can't live from day to day, knowing that another monster will eventually attack me and the people I care for, knowing that I am incapable of protecting them while it's because of me that they're in such danger."

"Shirataki..." She sighed and fell silent for a couple minutes. "Maybe Urahara will be able to come up with something…"

I shrugged noncommittally, but was unable to snuff out the small flame of hope that had reignited within me.

...Or that was until we stopped in front of an old, unassuming, little shop, with a sign above the fusuma doors proclaiming that we had arrived at 'Urahara's Shoten'. A loud, slightly obnoxious voice drew my eyes away from the sign and onto a red-headed boy holding a broom and baseball.

"Batter number 4, Hanakari Jinta, steps up to the plate! The pitcher winds up and throws a fast curveball! Can he hit it?! Will Hanakari be able to pull off another one of his amazing homeruns and win the game?! He swings back, and with an awesome backswing… WHAM!! KILLER HOME RUN!!"

_Killer home run? He completely missed the ball! Though, that broom did come awfully close to poking a hole in the shop's door…_

"Jinta-kun… Tessai-san will get mad if you make another hole in the door, especially since you're supposed to be sweeping up--"

The boy named Jinta turned towards the timid-looking girl with two black bangs hanging down the middle of her face and pointed his broom in her face.

"Urusai, Ururu! A celebrated baseball player doesn't have time to be sweeping up the front of a ratty old store anyway! My skills will deteriorate if I don't practice!"

My eyebrow twitched upwards as I fought to keep from laughing.

_What skills?_

"But Jinta-kun--"

"GRR!" He threw aside the broom and grabbed her bangs. "I'm above you in status, you're not supposed to lecture me. Just--"

"Now, now, children…" The paper door of Urahara's Shoten slid open and stopped Jinta mid-rant. "Don't fight. It doesn't send a good image to our guests."

A man wearing an old-fashioned, dark green samue with a black haori trimmed with white diamonds at the bottom stepped out from the interior of the store. The click-clacking of his getas were interspersed with the soft taps of his cane on the ground as he walked towards us, one hand resting on top of a green and white-striped bucket hat that prevented me from seeing his eyes.

"Good afternoon, Kuchiki-san."

He stopped in front of me.

"And welcome to my humble abode, Shirataki-san."

I stiffened in surprise. "How do you know my name?"

"Ah re, ah re… have you forgotten already?" There was a hint of teasing in his tone.

"Forgotten what?"

The man tilted his hat back from his white-ish blonde hair to look me in the eyes. "Why, all that happened between us last night!"

I would have punched him for the suggestive tone in his voice, were it not for the fact that I was too busy staring at him in stunned realization.

He swept me an elaborate bow. "Urahara Kisuke, at your service."

Shadowed gray eyes glinted up at me in amusement from under the brim of his striped hat, a smirk making its way across his face as he gestured towards the shop.

"Won't you come in?"

* * *

_**A/N: **Finally done! Whooo! I know that it's been one hell of a bloody long time since the last update but chapter 5 is FINALLY here! It's extra long too, so don't kill me okay? I actually just about finished writing it before leaving for vacation, but wasn't able to type it up at that time. Managed to get onto my grandpa's computer in Taiwan, typed like mad, and uploaded it in a hurry as my mother was yelling at me to get off the computer. _

_As some of you might know, this chapter gave me quite a hard time, which is why it took so damn long to write (and college, homework, and tests...). But Rika finally decided to show me what the hell happened and... yay! Chapter 5 finally made it's appearance! Am now working on Chapter 6_

_So what did you guys think? Was everyone in character? Especially Urahara, since he's also a main character and I sometimes find it hard to put him down on paper correctly. But I have to say... he was quite fun to work with **--nods--** I'm also having problems figuring out how Rika would address Rukia: Kuchiki? or Rukia? BAH! This is why I need a beta **--looks around for a volunteer--** Anyone? _

_Oh, and I almost forgot to mention... I commissioned some people to draw pictures of Rika. There is currently one released picture in my profile, under the "Through Her Eyes" section. Check it out!  
_


	6. World of the Dead

_**Disclaimer: **__The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Chapter 6: World of the Dead

The man named Urahara Kisuke led us past rows and rows of candy, stopping in front of another paper screen door that slid open to reveal an insanely tall and muscular man.

He bowed. "The tea has been prepared as requested tenchou."

"Ah… thank you Tessai."

I was about to enter after Kuchiki when the giant suddenly stepped in front of me, effectively stopping me in my tracks.

"If I may, Shirataki-dono…" and without further warning, lifted the arm that was in the cast to eye level, inspecting it closely, though what he was looking for with the cast in the way was beyond me. Then, he gently took me by the shoulders and spun me around, nodding to himself as I turned in circles, before finally stopping me and stating how happy he was that I looked much better today than I did last night, thoroughly confusing me until I saw his glasses glint in the light.

Urahara waved a fan at me. "Come sit down and have some tea Shirataki-san. Although Tessai did an excellent job healing you with his kidou, that leg of yours still needs some rest before it'll be back to its original condition."

Kuchiki set her cup down on the table. "So you were the one who saved her from the hollow last night?"

Snapping the fan shut, he pointed it at her as if he were announcing the winner in a contest. "Correct!"

"Then why didn't you replace her memories?"

"Because with her reiryoku, the false memories would have faded away in a matter of days, _if_ they even took."

"But you know that's against the law!"

"My dear Kuchiki-san," he smirked at her from under his hat. "If I followed the rules, you and your fellow shinigami would have no place to pick up supplies when on missions in the human world."

She huffed. "Speaking of supplies, did you get that thing I asked you about last night?"

"Of course! It's in the back. Jinta, could you go get it for us please?"

The red-head scowled. "Why me? Make Ururu--"

A low growl of "Jinta-dono…" sounding from the giant Tessai sitting next to Urahara, stopped the brat in mid-rant and sent him scurrying out of the room. He was back before long with a big box that he plopped down next to Kuchiki, who promptly opened it to check the contents.

I craned my neck to look inside but couldn't tell what the contraption was. A ping-pong ball robot thing?

"Er… what is that?"

"It's something that should help Ichigo improve his aim when it comes to fighting hollows. We'll see how well he does against it later today."

"Since you're such an important customer and are only borrowing it, I won't charge you anything for its use. Besides…" The fan was flipped open again as gray eyes observed us from underneath the green and white- striped hat. "You didn't come here today just to help Kuchiki-san pick that up, did you, Shirataki-san?"

I blinked at him over my tea. "No, but…" Setting down my cup, I ran a hand through my bangs, not knowing how to start. My eyes flicked over to Kuchiki for help.

"She wants to become a shinigami. I told her that it was impossible since she's a human, but she--"

"Ah re, ah re… impossible you say?" A slight chuckle came from behind the fan. "Not true if one has enough potential and reiryoku."

My heart skipped a beat.

"So there's a way?"

"But of course! Although it _will_ be dangerous, so the real question is, are you willing to risk your life in order to become a shinigami?"

Kuchiki frowned. "Wait, are you--"

"Possible death in exchange for the ability to protect my family doesn't seem that threatening after having considered actually dying to keep them safe. My answer is yes."

The fan closed with a snap as Urahara stood up.

"Very well then, come back in two days time. Your arm should have completely healed by then, and we will have had everything prepared."

I glanced down at the cast with a raised eyebrow.

"Last time I checked, broken arms didn't heal within two days."

"Ah… but I believe that the last time you checked, there were no such things as shinigami and hollows."

"Tch! Touché…"

"So long as you take your medicine once every hour, all your injuries will be completely healed by the time you come back"

"Medicine? You mean the thing that looks like rat poison?"

A deep rumble that sounded suspiciously like "Why, I never!" came from the giant seated by the door.

"Yes Shirataki-san, that's why I so kindly left it behind for you, free of charge too!"

I smirked. "Oh, how _very_ generous of you… but do consider using a new label so that it doesn't make your customers feel like they bought poison instead." Looping my messenger bag over my shoulder, I picked up the box that Kuchiki had come to pick up. "Anything other instructions?"

"No, I don't believe so." And turning his back to us, the green-clad man started to walk out. "Tessai, could you escort our guests out? I need to get started on the preparations. Jinta, Ururu, come with me."

The walk back from the shop was terribly quiet as Kuchiki seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and glancing up at me occasionally.

Finally fed up with waiting for her to bring up whatever was troubling her, I stopped, propping the box against a nearby fence. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"This training that Urahara has in mind for you, it's highly dangerous, and you won't be able to back out once you've started. Even if you don't die, life's not going to be as simple as before." The words tumbled out in a rush as she gazed earnestly at me. "Are you sure that you want to go through with it? Being a shinigami isn't just about killing the hollows that threaten you and those you care about. You'll also have to protect souls you've never met before, perform soul burials, and chase after any hollow that appears. It's not going to be easy, especially since you'll have to lead a double life."

"I know it isn't, but it's the life that lets me stay with those I love." I sighed and scuffed the road with my sneakers. "It's not like I'm not scared, because I am. I'm horribly afraid that I'll fail, that I won't be able to become a shinigami, and that even if I do become one, I won't be able to protect people. But I want to do this. I _need_ to do this. It doesn't matter how tiring or troublesome this may get, or how much training and running around I'll need to do… whatever it takes to keep my friends and family safe, I'll do it."

Kuchiki shook her head and looked into the distance. "You humans, always thinking with your hearts instead of your heads… Why do you guys have to be so emotional? Losing yourself to your emotions, losing your logic, it only leads to your death…"

I studied her. The unfocused eyes, the slightly hunched shoulders, and the arms wrapped loosely around her torso all made me wonder if she was just thinking about 'us humans'.

"You do know that you're pretty emotional yourself, right?"

"Kuchiki's aren't emotional!" The purple eyes were now fiercely focused on me.

Raising an eyebrow, I gave her the most incredulous look I could summon.

"You become angry when I say you're emotional, and when Kurosaki insulted your drawing skills. You're worried about me and, I suspect, Kurosaki as well. Besides, throwing yourself in front of a hollow just to save a human that you barely know ranks pretty high up on the emotional ladder."

"I was merely fulfilling my duty as a shinigami!"

"If that was the only reason, the best thing to do would have been to attack the hollow when it went in for the kill. If you were really only relying on your logic, you would have seen that letting yourself be grievously harmed would have done no good to either you or Kurosaki. Losing one person is always better than losing two. Using the distraction that Kurosaki provided would have been the perfect time to finish off the hollow. And yet you didn't."

"But--"

"Face it, you're just as emotional as the next person."

There was complete silence for a couple minutes as she stood there with her hands on her hips, glowering up at me, while I merely stared back at her, silently daring her to contradict what I had just said.

Finally she gave up and turned away from me with a huff. I heard her mumble, "Kuchiki's shouldn't be emotional," as she resumed walking.

"I don't know who told you that, and I don't know why they told you that, but being emotional is part of being human. You can't go through life making judgments based on only logic while, bottling everything else up inside. Eventually, that bottle's going to shatter." I shifted my hold on the box we had brought back from Urahara's Shoten. "Now this contraption is heavy, _and_ it's yours, so are you going to help me with it or not?"

/-/-/

I spent the next two days dividing up all my free time between my friends and family, with most of it dedicated to Teison. After karate at the dojo with Tatsuki, I would grab an afternoon snack with her and Orihime, then head back home and help Teison with his homework so he would finish faster and I would be able to take him out to the arcade or park. The days usually ended with me reading a book with him on the sofa while mom and dad read their newspaper on either side of us. The night before I was supposed to meet Urahara again, I gave each of them a tight hug, causing Teison to sputter loudly about how he couldn't breathe, and my parents to give me odd looks as dad ruffled my hair and mom asked if I was alright. I could only smile tightly in response and be thankful that what little precious time I had with them had not been interrupted by any more hollow attacks.

On the agreed upon afternoon, I arrived at the candy shop after saying goodbye to Tatsuki and Orihime at the dojo. Looking at the unassuming storefront with a rapidly thumping heart, I wondered if I was making the right choice. After all, I didn't need to do this. Kurosaki was already a shinigami, and as Kuchiki said, I could just throw all the hollows I come across onto him. I could refuse to go through with this and just continue on with my life as it was now. Of course, hollows would pop up every now and then, but I was sure that with some effort on my part, I would be able to pretend that they didn't exist. I mean, walking into that store meant walking towards possible impending death. Sure, I had been pretty adamant about becoming a shinigami, but that was right after I'd been attacked by hollows two days in a row and had just found out about a completely different world interlinked with ours. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, I started to wonder if I hadn't completely lost my mind when I agreed, no, demanded to do this.

I had just taken a step back when images from the past four days flashed across my mind and stopped me in my tracks.

_The terrified looks on the girl and Kurosaki's face as the hollow bore down on them. The paralyzing terror I had felt at facing those drooling teeth._

_The frantic need to protect Teison as we ran back home with another hollow closing in on us. The utter lack of strength I had felt upon coming face to face with the monster, mere golf clubs as my only weapons._

_The horror of hearing Teison's voice and knowing that he had left the safety of the house because I hadn't been able to fend off the hollow. The worry that infused Teison's face when he hovered above me, holding back tears as he begged me to let him help fight something he couldn't even see. _

_The sight of Teison's small body flying through the air like a rag doll. The wrenching anguish I had experienced as I crawled towards Teison and begged him to please wake up, dreading the worst when he continued to be oblivious to my desperate pleas._

_The white-hot anger I had felt upon seeing the monster's despicable grin as it loomed above me and Teison's limp form._

_The overwhelming guilt and hopelessness I had been drowning in when it seemed like the hollow was about the finish me off._

Why was I hesitating now? Did I really want to experience those feelings of fright, pain, and powerlessness again? Did I really want to have to stand there uselessly and watch someone else protect my loved ones for me? Would I be able to live with myself if anything happened to Teison, knowing that I could have prevented it if only I hadn't been too scared to risk my life? Would I be okay with letting other people hunt down the monster while I tried to continue on with life despite the fierce desire for revenge that would be burning inside of me?

The answer was no, no, and no. I didn't want to have to experience all that again. I didn't want to see the fear in other people's faces and not be able to do anything more than throw a cup of coffee at the cause of that fear. I didn't want to see Teison's face creased with terrified alarm as he tried to be brave. I didn't want to feel the helplessness I felt whenever I encountered one of those monsters.

Balling my hands into fists, I glared at the storefront, as if it was the reason for my momentary hesitation. Shifting my weight forward again, I marched towards the shop, determined to survive whatever method Urahara was going to use on me. As I approached, the door slid open to reveal the very man.

"Ah, Shirataki-san, right on time! We just finished with the preparations."

I followed him into the store, expecting to be lead to the back again, but instead, he stopped at the ledge in front of us and bent over to fumble with something. Straightening, he lifted a section of the ledge, revealing a large hole. I peered down into it, but aside from a ladder attached to the side, I couldn't see anything but seemingly unending darkness.

Muttering to myself about how deep it was, I almost missed the slight pressure on my back before there was a sudden flash of light, and I was falling down through the very hole I had been studying.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH—GUH!"

A painful jerk on my chest suddenly spun me over to face the direction I had come from, bringing me to an abrupt stop. Opening my tightly shut eyes, I found myself hanging face-up in midair by a chain, but instead of the murky blackness I hadn't been able to making anything out of, I was now surrounded on all sides by light blue.

A shout came from above me. "Oy! Daijoubu?"

Glaring up at the tiny square of light with a little dot in the middle of it, I felt my anger rising.

"What the hell do you mean by asking if I'm alright? You just pushed me down a fucking deep hole with no warning whatsoever and expect me to be alright? Are you fucking kidding me?!? I'll tell you how I am, I'm pissed off! Get your butt down here so I can beat the crap out of you!"

"Well, if you insist!" came the all too cheerful reply before I felt a moment of weightlessness.

_Oh shit…_

"AHHHHHHHH—Oof!"

"Why hello again!"

Opening my eyes yet again, I shot daggers at the grinning man who had somehow managed to catch me as we both fell through the air. "I'm going to kill you."

"Ah re, ah re… that's not a very nice thing to say to the man that saved your life just a couple of days ago." Gray eyes glinted down at me. "Besides, if you attacked me right now, I would be forced to let go of you in order to defend myself, and since we're still so high up…"

The amount of daggers I was shooting at him increased. "Don't you dare!"

The only reply I got was a slight chuckle that vibrated through his chest. Before long, the clicking of his getas touching solid ground interrupted the one-sided glaring contest; we had finally reached the bottom. I started to look around me before shortly realizing that Urahara was still carrying me with one arm.

"Uh… you can let me go now…"

"But you said that I wasn't allowed to—oof!"

Losing my already long lost patience, I silenced the man with a well-placed elbow to his stomach, effectively making him release me. Finally free of the annoying man who was now cradling his midsection and dramatically sobbing about how he didn't deserve such abuse, I studied my surroundings. We were in what seemed to be a huge underground cavern with uneven dirt terrain. Well, maybe a step up from a cavern… After all, there were some trees (whose leaves were starting to turn brown) scattered around, and the blue I had glimpsed earlier turned out to be the ceiling and walls that were painted to look like the sky. The place wouldn't have been terribly impressive if it weren't for the fact that the whole area was huge and all underground. I turned to ask Urahara about it all, but the question quickly died in my throat when I caught sight of what was lying on the ground next to him.

"I-Is that… ME?!?"

Popping up from his previous fetal position, opened fan placed firmly in front of his face again, the shop owner cast a careless glance at the body on the ground before focusing his eyes back on me.

"Why yes, Shirataki-san, I do believe it is!"

"But I-- my-- you--" I pointed distractedly between me and my body.

"Ah… Shirataki-san? Please don't forget to breathe…"

I barely heard the amusement in his voice as I continued to mumble to myself and gesticulate somewhat wildly. "I'm here… and there… but here… and HOLY CRAP! WHAT'S GOING ON?!?"

"Take a look at yourself."

"I _AM_!"

"No, no, no… not your body… you!"

"Me?" I looked down at myself. "What's different about-- Is that a chain sticking out of my chest?!?"

"Took her long enough." Came an obnoxious voice from behind me. It was Jinta.

I scowled at him. "Shut it you, now is not a good time to annoy me."

"Ooo… so scary!" He made face. "What's a mere spirit going to be able to do to me?"

"Spi-- wait! I'm a spirit?"

He rolled his eyes. "Duh…"

"As in one of those dead people I see around town?"

Urahara spoke up. "Precisely! Though you're not dead yet. I merely separated your soul from your body. So long as that, your chain of fate, remains unbroken, you can still return."

"So, I'm still alive?"

"Actually…"

The sound of something heavy whistling through the air made me turn around quickly, only to catch sight of Tessai swinging a huge axe down onto the chain, neatly severing me from my body.

"You _were_ still alive."

I gaped at them in shocked silence.

Pulling down his hat to cover eyes that were gleaming with wicked mirth, Urahara smirked at me.

"Welcome to the world of the dead."

* * *

_**A/N:** Chapter 6 is out and I didn't make you guys wait a whole half a year! **--gasp-- **This chapter was supposed to be about how Urahara turns Rika into a shinigami, but they wanted to do this instead, so I couldn't do anything but follow their orders **--sigh-- **But hey! It doesn't seem too horrible, and I wasn't struggling to get it out, so maybe it's okay? **--headdesk--** I really need someone to look over my stuff for me and offer insight. Oh well, tell me what you guys thought!_


	7. Lessons on Death and Gikongai

_**Disclaimer: **__The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize_

Chapter 7: Lessons on Death and Gikongai

"W-world of the dead?"

"Correct!"

"But you said that--"

"Shirataki-san, tell me, what does 'shinigami' mean?"

I frowned. "Someone who guides pluses to Soul Society and kills hollows."

Urahara sighed, taking his hand off of the hat and reached into his pocket. "I am not asking what a shinigami's duties are. I am asking what the word 'shinigami' means."

"Um, death… god…?"

"Precisely!" The fan was pointing at me again. "In other words, a shinigami is a god of death, someone who is a master of death. Obtain the powers of a shinigami, and you conquer death, leaving you free to return to your human form and life."

"Obtain the powers of a shinigami, huh? You say that as if it's such an easy thing to do."

Fanning himself, the man grinned at me. "Well of course it isn't! There is, after all, a time limit on how long it you have to attain your powers."

"A time limit?" I pinched the bridge of my nose, already feeling a headache building up.

"Why yes! You see, Shirataki-san, a spirit's chain of fate erodes over time. Should it erode all the way to the chest and form a hole, the soul will undergo a painful transformation and become a hollow."

My eyes shot open as my hand fell down to my side.

"A hollow?!? But you never said anything about that!"

"Did I not warn you that it would be dangerous and that you would have to be prepared to risk your life?"

"Yeah, I was willing to risk _my_ life, but what about other people's? If I become a hollow, wouldn't my first instinct be to attack those around me?" I grabbed the front of his samue. "What if I attack Tatsuki or Orihime? What if I hurt Teison? I wouldn't have agreed to do this if I had known there was that risk! I came to learn how to get rid of those things, not join their ranks!"

"My dear Shirataki-san," his all too cheerful voice cut across mine. "What makes you think that we will even allow you the chance to attack others should you fail?"

I let go of his shirt and took a step back, eyeing him warily. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course!" Serious grey eyes met mine from under the brim of his hat. "I will exterminate you myself should you become a hollow."

Some of the tension left my shoulders; not the usual reaction to hearing about one's possible extermination, but it was a relief to know that even if I did become a hollow, the people I cared about would not be hurt. However, I still owed the man in front of me something…

"OW! Shirataki-san!" Urahara was cradling his stomach again. "What was that for?"

I growled. "You should know what that's for! Did you think I would let you get away with not mentioning the risk of turning into a hollow until it was a _bit_ too late? Or how about that _small_ little matter of killing me?"

"But Shirataki-san--"

"No buts!" I smacked him on the head, sending his hat flying. "And don't think I forgot about being pushed down that hole with no warning at all!"

"But--"

I swung my fist back for another punch. "I said no b--"

A hand gripping my wrist stopped me in my tracks and possibly saved Urahara's nose from being broken.

"Shirataki-dono," The deep rumbling voice sounded from directly above me. "I believe that what tenchou is trying to say is that time is precious for you, so we should get started soon."

I blinked up at Tessai before jerking my hand out of his grasp and let it drop back down to my side.

"Fine, but exactly how do I go about becoming a shinigami, and how long is this whole process going to take?"

Retrieving and dusting off his hat, Urahara answered my question. "Judging from your reiryoku, it will probably take at least a week to turn you into a shinigami. Then you will have to come back here for training on how to access and master your powers."

"A week?!? But I have school and exams and karate… _and_ I didn't even tell my parents that I would be gone. They're expecting me to be back by tonight." I sighed and ran a hand through my bangs. "Can't we just get this over with today?"

"Today?" Urahara let out a slight chuckle before suddenly appearing in front of me and giving me a sharp tap on the head with his closed fan. "Even after all that we've told you, you still think it will be that easy?"

He drew back, open fan moving up and down slowly as he continued. "You must remember, Shirataki-san, that in order to turn you into a shinigami, we are going to have to change the basic composition of your soul. Though your level of reiryoku does give this method a small chance of succeeding, you are still a mere human soul trying to become a shinigami. Granted, your spiritual powers have been growing, but the seeds of your shinigami powers have only just been planted. In order to bring them to the forefront of your consciousness and make full use of them, much soul searching is required. Proper care and attention need to be paid to those fragile seeds, rushing through their cultivation will only result in mutation or death of your powers. So I shall ask you again Shirataki Rika, do you or do you not have the resolve to see this through, because if you do not, this will never succeed, and you _will_ turn into a hollow."

Slightly chastised, I folded my arms and huffed. "If I said I'm doing it, I'm doing it. I realized that it would be a long process, just not the part about me having to put my life on hold for a week."

"Well…" There was an amused tone in his voice. "You are dead after all…"

"Oh yes, very funny… As if I could have forgotten…" I made a face at him. "How am I supposed to explain this disappearance to my family and friends? My mom's definitely going to worry if I'm not back by tonight."

"Ah re, ah re…who said you weren't going to be home tonight?"

"You guys just--"

"Jinta, could you do the honors please? I'm afraid that Shirataki-san might mangle me should I touch her without her permission again."

"Alright! I've been waiting for this!"

"Wait, what are you--" I started towards Jinta, but before I could reach him, the boy had already popped a little green pill into my… er... my body's mouth.

Nothing happened.

"What did you guys just do…?"

"Shh… watch!"

I turned back towards my body just in time to see it picking itself off the ground and turn towards me.

"Why hello there!"

"…Hi?"

'_Talking to yourself' just gained a whole new meaning…_

Green eyes shifted to Urahara and Tessai who were standing behind me, and I was more than slightly disturbed at the hungry gleam that were now in my—her—its eyes. Before I could blink, whatever was in my body had leapt over to Urahara and pressed itself against him.

"Mmm… such a handsome man. I haven't seen such a sight in a very long time." It trailed fingers up his chest. "Why don't we go and have some fun?"

The shopkeeper had the audacity to grin over at me before wrapping an arm around it—wait… MY waist.

"Yes indeed, why don't we?" His laughing eyes were fixed on mine as his hand started drifting lower.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" I ran over and slapped his arm away before jerking my struggling body out of his grasp. "What the hell did you do to me?!?"

He plastered an innocent look onto his face and spread out his arms. "I merely had Jinta put a gikongai into your body so others won't notice your absence over the next week."

"Gikongai?"

"A fake soul if you will."

"But anyone will be able to tell that, that--" I pointed a finger towards my body, only to realize that it was now entwined around a blushing Tessai's arm.

My jaw dropped.

"Get over here you!" I grabbed the thing by the hair and dragged it back to where I had been standing, shuddering all the while.

"Ow!" I had never realized my voice could reach such a high pitch as the gikongai yowled in pain. "This is your hair! Treat it better! How am I ever supposed to attract any boys in this body if you don't take good care of it?"

I twitched. "Shut up! The only thing saving you from a broken nose right now is the fact that I like my nose. So as I said, stuff it!"

Whirling on Urahara I ground out through gritted teeth. "I swear, if you don't get this… this… this man-lusting _thing_ out of my body this instant, I will break _your_ nose and make sure that you'll never be able to have any 'fun' ever again!"

He winced. "Yes ma'am…" Lifting his cane, he poked the gikongai in the forehead, and after a familiar flash of light, the green pill popped out from the back of my head. Resisting the very strong urge to stomp on it, I picked it up and threw it over the Tessai before stalking over to Urahara and aiming another swipe at his head, but rather unfortunately, he dodged it.

"My dear Shirataki-san, why all the violence? Can it be that you just can't resist my rugged good looks and can't keep your hands off me?"

The next punch _didn't_ miss the target.

"Ow! My nose!"

"Just be glad I didn't break it, you pervert. Why did you put such a thing into my body?"

"Ah well…" The fan was once again hiding his face. "It was the first one I laid my hands on…"

I looked at him suspiciously before deciding to let it go and move on to more important matters.

"If you're going to stick one of those gikongai into my body, at least get one that's similar to me. No one's going to be dense enough to not notice that I've suddenly turned into some vain, man-lusting thing."

"Then let's try this one!" He held up a container with a dog-headed cap. Pushing the top, another green pill popped out onto his hand, rather like those PEZ candy dispensers I had always eyed longingly when at the supermarket with my mom as a child.

I watched with trepidation as my body came to life once again.

"Third most popular gikongai in Seireitei, Papyrus, how do you do?"

Urahara turned towards me. "Papyrus is the most intelligent gikongai there is. That should make the schooling aspect of your life a bit easier, as it will be able to take detailed notes for you. Unfortunately, it's not one for physical activities, which will become obvious when it has to attend your physical education and karate lessons for you."

I shrugged. "That's not a big problem. I've just been sitting and watching the past couple of days because of my arm. Just keep the cast on and no one will expect anything physical out of me."

The gikongai shot its arm into the air. "Question!"

I eyed the frantically waving hand warily, hoping against hope that it wouldn't do that while attending my classes.

"Yes, erm… Papyrus?"

"I know that your name is Shirataki Rika, that you go to Karakura High, that exams are coming up, that you attend a dojo, that you have a younger brother, that his name is Teison, that--"

"Okay, first off, stop spouting out all the facts you know about me. It's annoying and I already lost all the patience I have to deal with annoying. Secondly, what the hell is your question?"

It took a big breath. "What year and class are you in? Where's Karakura High? How about where you live? Which dojo do you go to? What's your daily routine like? Do you--"

"Enough!" I grit my teeth and counted to ten in my head before continuing. "Rule number one: never ask so many questions when you're pretending to be me."

"But you'll never learn anything if you don't ask questions!"

I glared at it. "Do you want me to answer your questions or not?"

"Sorry…"

Blowing out a gust of air, I started to answer its questions in the most monotone voice I could muster.

"I wake up every day, grab breakfast along with a cup of coffee, and go to school as a third year student in class 3-2. When school ends, I head to the dojo with Tatsuki and sometimes hang out with her and Orihime afterwards. Then I go home, do my homework, help Teison with his if he asks for it, eat dinner, finish my homework, read a book with Teison, and then sleep. Pretty normal stuff really…" I swept my bangs out of my eyes. "If you spend too much time with my family and friends, they'll probably notice something is off. Since exams are coming up, you can just say that you need to study in order to avoid spending too much time around them. Blame it on exam stress or something along those lines if someone says I'm acting differently than usual."

"And how about where everything is?"

Sighing, I squatted down and started to draw in the dirt. "If we're over here, you can go down this street, and then turn here… then make another turn there… and my house should be right about--"

Urahara peeked over my shoulder. "Shirataki-san… what are you doing?"

I winced. "Trying to draw a map…"

"I'm pretty sure that there's a road here." His fan tapped on an empty spot below the 'X' I had drawn to mark the shop's location. "And definitely no roads here…" The fan was now pointing at a jumble of lines that would never have passed city regulations as they would have caused numerous traffic accidents.

"It's not my fault." My voice sounded decidedly petulant now. "Maps and I just don't get along very well."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… I have a decent sense of direction, but it seems to get all muddled up whenever I'm handed a map. There's a smaller chance of me getting lost by flipping a coin at every intersection than if I tried to follow a stupid piece of paper with lines drawn on it."

"But they're not--"

"Hard to use? Yeah, that's what everyone tells me, but…" I shrugged. "My mom says it's probably because I somehow managed to pull a whole rack of maps down on top of my head when I was little, so now I have some unconscious barrier against them in my mind."

The man was wise enough to refrain from commenting, opting to address the gikongai instead. "How about this, I will have Tessai show you around instead and make sure you know where everything is. I hope that is acceptable?"

It nodded.

"Well then, is there anything else you'd like to ask Shirataki-san before we get started on her training?"

"Oh yes! I still have so many questions left! For example, do you usually wear your hair down? How about this wristband and necklace? Do you always wear them? Is there some special significance behind--" Papyrus must have caught the dark look I was sending its way because it stuttered to an abrupt halt. "I'll, uh, stop now…"

I smiled tightly before deciding that answering its questions today was much more preferable to being bombarded with them another day.

"No, I don't usually leave my hair down. It's much easier to handle in a ponytail, but since tying it back with only one functional arm is kind of hard, leaving it down was my only option. Wearing a wristband was a habit I picked from Tatsuki. Convenient for when I'm exercising, but if you forget to wear it, no one is really going to notice or care. As for the necklace," My hand rose up to touch the metal pendant hanging from my neck. "I saw it on display in the window of a pawn shop while walking around town with Orihime and Tatsuki the other day, and couldn't resist buying it since I'm a big Phantom of the Opera fan. I haven't taken it off since then, so my mom will probably ask if you lost it if she doesn't see you wearing it."

"Hmm…" Urahara approached me. "May I see it?"

"Sure." Reaching up, I unclasped the necklace and handed it over to Urahara, who studied the white half mask pendant intently, eyes flicking towards me occasionally.

"Er… is everything okay? You're paying an awful lot of attention to a necklace…"

"Well, I've never seen a pendant quite like this before…" He handed it back to me. "That and I never would have thought Shirataki-san to be a fan. After all, it is a rather sad story about a man labeled as a monster and rejected from society due to a disfigurement beyond his control."

I grinned up at him while refastening the necklace around my neck. "The story isn't just about society rejecting him though. It's also about love, obsession, acceptance, and growth. Besides, the musical is great. Have you ever listened to the songs before?"

"Actually, no… I've only heard of the story from a friend of mine."

"You're missing out then. I have the songs if you're ever interested. You really should listen to them at least once."

"Ah…" Urahara chuckled nervously. "I will be sure to keep your offer in mind, but I'm afraid that we've rather strayed from the topic at hand."

"What… Oh!" I bit my lip, then laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, I can get a bit carried away when it comes to music and Phantom of the Opera stuff."

I turned back towards Papyrus. "Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

It shook its head. "No, I think I have enough information for now, but I'll probably have some more questions for you after tomorrow."

"Joy… I await them with bated breath."

Urahara clapped his hands together. "Then shall we get started?"

"What am I going to be doing? Meditating?"

Gray eyes blinked at me from over the fan. "Whatever put that idea into your mind?"

"Well, you said stuff like bringing my shinigami powers to the forefront of my consciousness and mentioned soul-searching and stuff… It all sounded very… zen-like… to me."

The shop owner smirked. "Ma… I had originally considered using that method, but it seems like you don't have the patience required to settle down and meditate deeply enough. Instead, Ururu will be working with you."

The timid girl appeared from behind Urahara, wearing a mushroom-like head protector and gloves.

She curtsied. "Nice to meet you Shirataki-san."

I nodded back. "Nice to meet you too."

"Lesson one!" The snapping of his fan drew our attention back onto Urahara. "Fight Ururu."

It was my turn to blink at him. "That's it?"

"Yes! It's 'lesson clear' when you manage to hit Ururu at least once."

Raising my eyebrows at the condition, I flicked my eyes over to Ururu before starting to stretch and warm up.

"Ho? No protests about having to fight a little girl?"

Legs stretched out on either side of my body, I stretched myself forward from my sitting position until my upper body touched the ground, before answering him. "You wouldn't have set that condition if it was going to be easy to fulfill." I looked up at him as I bent towards the left, resting my body on top of my leg. "You also wouldn't have set her against me if you weren't confident in her abilities."

"Besides," I bent towards my right and repeated the stretch before lifting myself off the ground and strapping on the protective gear that Ururu was holding out for me. "I'll find out soon enough if she's not as good as I thought."

Urahara pulled his hat down over his eyes. "Yes, I suppose you would…"

"Though I should probably warn you." I grinned at Ururu as I lowered myself into my fighting stance. "I haven't sparred for a while, so I won't be pulling my punches, and I'll get pissed if you do."

Ururu nodded, then silently raised her fists and took her stance.

"Since you're both ready then…" Urahara's cheerful voice sounded from the side. "Lesson one, BEGIN!"

* * *

_**A/N: **And here's Chapter 7. Had to split it in two because it was getting long, so you guys will be getting another update next week. Does that somewhat redeem me for not having updated for two months?  
_

_This chapter is... meh... Seems like there's a lot of random information in it, but hopefully it read smoothly enough. There were a couple of things thrown in there to set up for future stuff, any guesses as to what specifically? _

_Also enjoyed writing the part with the man-loving gikongai, it was the one we saw Matsumoto use in a couple of those filler episodes. Thought it would go well with Urahara and throw in a bit of Urahara x Shirataki action without it actually being Urahara x Shirataki. _

_Anyways... tell me what you guys thought!_


	8. Fighting Through Lesson One

_**Disclaimer: **The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Chapter 8: Fighting Through Lesson One

I started towards Ururu, but she was much faster and shot towards me like a bullet. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of me, fist pulled back and ready to strike. Throwing my body down to the right, I felt the force of her punch brush against my left cheek in a gust of wind, but had the presence of mind to swing my leg out at her in an attempt to knock her over.

She dodged the attack by leaping up into the air, then came down at me with another punch, forcing me to roll to the right before scrambling back up to my feet. Coughing slightly at all the dust her last punch stirred up, I squinted around me, trying to catch sight of Ururu as the air slowly cleared.

The only warning I had before the next attack was the pattering of her sandals from behind me. Whirling around, I was just in time to catch a kick to my sternum and sent flying backwards. I collided with the dirt ground, and gritting my teeth against the tiny pebbles that dug into my back, used the momentum to swing my legs over my head and roll back onto my feet.

Still wheezing a bit from having the wind knocked out of me, I settled back into my stance as I watched Ururu come charging at me yet again. She jumped up just before reaching me and pulled her right leg back, aiming to land a powerful kick on the side of my headgear.

"Tch!"

I blocked her kick with my left arm, wincing at the strength of the impact, before reaching up with my right hand to grab her ankle. Pivoting on my left heel, I threw her several yards away.

Aiming for the head, I charged at her as she landed lightly on her feet, but wasn't nearly fast enough. She easily dodged the punch with a side-step, then whirled on one foot and landed a powerful kick on my back, sending me flying yet again.

Breaking the fall with my arms, I pushed myself back up, brushing off small pebbles that had become embedded in my skin. Hearing Ururu run towards me from behind, I blindly threw a back kick at her. She easily evaded it, and I was forced to throw myself to the side to avoid a new punch. Another attempt to sweep her legs out from under her was unsuccessful yet again.

Our fight continued on like this for a while. With Ururu constantly on the attack, I was forced to dodge or block her kicks and punches, leaving me with very few chances to launch any attacks of my own. While were a couple of times where I succeeded in throwing her onto the ground or away from me, I was unable to land a single hit since she always managed to move out of the way, quite the opposite of the consistent blows I kept on receiving from her.

As time wore on though, the number of times I got hit started to decrease while the number of times I was able to counterattack started to increase, forcing her to have to go on defense more and more often. It was something that Tatsuki had remarked on during one of our many sparring matches at the dojo.

_--Flashback--_

_We were circling each other warily, both of us panting for air and blinking sweat out of our eyes._

"_Not too bad Rika!" Tatsuki grinned at me from over her gloves. "Might actually be able to force me to fight seriously today."_

_I snorted. "Yeah right! You know that you have to fight me seriously every time, I'd wipe the floor with your otherwise." A smirk made its way across my face. "Then again, I do that even when you do give it your all."_

"_Ha!" Tatsuki feinted to the right before taking a swipe at me. "I wipe the floor with you just as many times as you do with me."_

_Grinning, I aimed a flurry of kicks at her, forcing her backwards. "We wouldn't be sparring partners if that wasn't the case."_

"_True. Why you don't compete in the championships is beyond me." She managed to block my kicks with her arms, then pushed me back before rushing forward with a barrage of kicks and punches._

"_Simple… I don't like competitions."_

_Blocking one of her roundhouse kicks with my left arm, I then looped it around her leg and pushed behind her knee joint, upsetting her balancing and forcing her closer to me._

"_There's so much pressure to win that it kills off the adrenaline rush I get from fighting. Anyways," I blocked her punch with my right arm, then grabbed her shoulder and forcefully brought my knee up into her already bruised left side before releasing her, causing her to fall to the ground. "It's my win today."_

_Tatsuki sat up with one hand pressed to her side and pulled off her head protector. "I hate it when the matches are long, you usually win those."_

"_Really?" I walked over to the bench where our water bottles and towels were. "I hadn't noticed."_

"_Yeah." She caught the bottle I threw and drank from it before taking the towel I was holding out for her. "It takes a while for you to really get into a fight and reach your full potential, but as it wears on, your reaction time gets faster and you get a bit more creative with your attacks."_

_I draped the towel around my neck. "Oh… I always thought that I could react better because I got used to my opponent's attacks and could start reading their movements."_

"_Well, there's that too. It usually goes both ways, but because you start getting creative, it actually gets harder to predict how you'll attack." She took another swig of water. "But your reaction time itself does get better too."_

"_Interesting… must be due to all the adrenaline. Would definitely explain why I crash so hard once it wears off after the matches." I laughed. "But you know, better reaction time and creativity or not, if the match drags on for too long, I end up losing in endurance."_

"_Yep, and that's why we should work on yours!" She pulled the towel off her head and threw it onto the bench along with her bottle. "Up for another round?"_

_I chuckled and stood up. "You say it's to help me build up my endurance, but I think you just want your revenge."_

_Strapping on her headgear, Tatsuki grinned at me unrepentantly. "How did you ever guess?"_

_--End Flashback-- _

While I was able to react to Ururu's attacks much faster than when we had first begun the match, we had been fighting for a while, and though my endurance had increased with help from Tatsuki, my body was already waving a red warning flag at me. Each breath of air that my burnings lungs managed to draw in seemed to contain less and less oxygen. Muscles in my arms and legs were beginning to tighten up and I knew that if I let this drag on for much longer, they would stop working at the level I needed in order to clear this first lesson. Additionally, even the adrenaline pumping through my veins couldn't stop the pain from various cuts and bruises on my body from creeping its way into my awareness. I was definitely starting to reach my limit, but Ururu looked like she had simply taken a stroll through a park.

Pausing a couple yards from her, I reached up to wipe the perspiration off my forehead. Considering my options.

The main problem I had was that Ururu was faster than me, and therefore able to move out of the way before I got within attacking range. If there was a way for me to hold her down or limit her movements, I might be able to land a punch.

_Time to get creative then…_

When Ururu rushed at me with another punch, I ducked and charged forward as if to collide with her headfirst. She jumped, and using my back as a springboard, leapt high up into the air, pushing me face first into the ground. Turning over while spitting dirt out of my mouth, I was met with the sight of her diving at me like a missile and had to hurriedly roll out of the way to avoid having my nose smashed in.

Scrambling up into a crouching position, I used the cover of the dust to grab onto the chain of fate attached to my chest, then whirled around just as Ururu came diving at me with a flying double kick. Grabbing her legs with both hands and stopping her inches away from my head, I wrapped the metal links around her legs and flung her onto the ground. Tugging at the chain with my right hand, I jerked her towards me and swung back with my left fist, bringing it around to connect solidly with the right side of her head protector.

Letting out a big breath and grinning at her in triumph, I unwrapped the chain, then stood up and reached down to help her up, only to witness her pupils dilating before she grabbed my wrist and flung me onto the ground with more force than anything I had witnessed from her during the fight. Winded, I could only lie there and watch wide-eyed as her fist came down and connected with my chest full force, just centimeters away from where the chain of fate protruded from my torso.

Lying on the ground, frantically gasping for the air her punch had forcibly removed from my lungs, I tried to figure out what was going on. Hadn't Urahara said that I would clear the lesson if I succeeded in hitting Ururu? Didn't that mean that the fight was over when I managed to punch her? Then why did Ururu attack me so aggressively afterwards? And what the hell was up with that huge increase in power?

It was when I tried to turn my head to look for Urahara and ask him what was going on that I realized I couldn't move. I tried to lift my arms, my legs, even twitch my little finger, all to no avail. Aside from my rapidly moving eyes, my body just wouldn't respond to my commands.

_What's happening?! _

Then, as if it was triggered by this realization of my immobility, the numbness from Ururu's final punch wore off, only to be replaced by intense pain. Each breath I tried to take felt as if an iron plate had settled on my chest, growing heavier and heavier with every gulp of air. The burning pain spread from my chest and into my arms and legs, dissolving the adrenaline in my veins, and making me aware of just how much I had pushed my body to its limits. Every little cut felt as if salt had been rubbed into it, every single bruise felt like it had been inflicted with a battering ram, and all my muscles seemed to be crying bloody murder at the top of their nonexistent lungs.

_This isn't a normal adrenaline crash! Oh god… what the hell is happening to me?!?_

I struggled against the tunnel vision threatening to take away my sight. Was I dying? Was it even possible for souls to die again? Or had my time run out when I wasn't paying attention, and I was now turning into a hollow?

No, that couldn't be it… If I had been running out of time, if I was that close to turning into a hollow, I wouldn't have been able to limit Ururu's movements with the chain of fate. She hadn't hit it either, so it couldn't have been shortened during her last attack.

So then what the hell happened?!?

"Lesson one… clear!"

I shifted my eyes to the side and watched as a grinning Urahara slowly came within my line of vision, one hand holding his cane, the other resting on Ururu's head.

"That was a most excellent show, Shirataki-san, it seems you are ready to begin the next lesson."

_I'm not really in any shape to start another lesson! Can you not tell that I can't bloody move?!?_

He squatted down and thrust his hand directly in front of my face. It was so close that I could feel my labored pants graze off his skin and brush back over my lips.

"Lesson two… shattered mind."

The darkness that I had managed to hold off at the fringe of my vision suddenly swirled in with alarming speed. Despite the respite from pain it promised me, I fought against the familiar feeling of impending unconsciousness, not liking the sound of the second lesson one bit. Struggling furiously, I refused to relinquish my mind to the engulfing shadows, afraid of what would happen to me if I surrendered to its clutches. Regardless of my best efforts though, the darkness kept growing and I could feel my mind slowly fall into a daze.

Urahara's gray eyes locked onto mine as I started slipping away.

"Come back to us, and it'll be lesson clear."

I knew nothing more after that.

* * *

_**A/N:** _

_**Rika: **Shattered mind?!? What did you do to me you damn shopkeeper?_

_**Urahara: **(peers at her from over his fan) Me? Oh nothing really... I just... gave you a little nudge!_

_**Rika: **(narrows eyes) A little nudge? Towards what?_

_**Urahara: **You wouldn't want me to ruin the surprise now would you?_

_**Rika: **(growls) Are you trying to get me to hit you? Cuz you're coming really close to it  
_

_**Me: **(cutting in before Urahara gets himself killed) Here is the promised continuation of chapter 7. Action scenes are both fun and hard to write, especially when you write most of it on an airplane and the rest in the middle of the night. Both times are were trying because I couldn't really get up and act out the fights, but they seemed okay when I was finally able to test them out._

_So you guys will be meeting Shirataki's zanpakutou spirit in the next chapter. Any guesses as to what it'll be like? There's a poll in my profile and it should be interesting to see what people think matches her. Let's see... oh yes, any guesses as to what her inner world will look like? Would love to hear your guesses._

_Chapter 9 is currently in the works, no promises on how soon I'll be able to get it out though. I'm hoping for soon, but well... I don't know how long writer's block will stay away. _

_And I think it's about time I replied to some of my readers that I couldn't respond to with a simple click of a button:_

_**Kiara: **Thanks! And poor Kisuke indeed. I think he really is going to end up with a broken nose someday._

_**dark anglez: **Nope, that wasn't very nice of him at all, but hey, I think Rika managed to convey her anger in the last chapter ^_^  
_

_**TAY: **Thanks, especially for the suggestion. I shall definitely try to cut out some of the Japanese words when I can, but a lot of the phrases are connected to specific characters in my mind. Hopefully I shall be able to get over this bad habit with time_

_**a reader: **Thanks for the encouragement! It means a lot_

_**Night Sorceress: **If you're still reading this, thanks so much for the encouraging reviews when I first started this story. They really gave me the confidence to keep on going with it_

_Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Do tell me what you thought!  
_


	9. World of Falling Leaves

_**Disclaimer: **The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Chapter 9: World of Falling Leaves

I woke up to the sound of rustling leaves and the gentle brush of the wind against my skin. Blinking slightly in the filtered sunlight, I sat up and looked around. Trees of all kinds surrounded me and extended as far as the eye could see, their blazing autumn foliage casting shadows on the grassy clearing I was in.

"So you're finally awake Rika?" A deep voice sounded from behind me.

Whipping my head around to see who had addressed me, I saw a black wolf lying on a rock with its head on its paws and eyes closed.

"Who are you?" The words were out of my mouth before my brain could fully catch up to the fact that a wolf had just talked to me.

One of his ears twitched forward. "Hmm… that was unanticipated… Didn't expect you to handle my ability to speak very well."

_Yeah, me neither… Blame it on the shock._

I shrugged.

"Guess that after all that's happened to me over the last several days, talking to an animal that I always thought to be quite intelligent pales in comparison."

"Indeed…"

Silence fell across the clearing as I flopped back into the tall, yellowing, green grass, feeling oddly relaxed and comfortable in this unfamiliar setting.

"So… who are you?"

"If I told you now, would you be able to hear me?"

Turning to look in his direction, I frowned at him through the stalks of grass. "What do you mean?"

"Only that you are still young." Silver eyes opened to fix their gaze on me. "You've only just become aware of my existence; it would be inconceivable for you to catch my name so soon."

"So… you're basically refusing to tell me who you are."

"No, I am merely waiting for your growth. If you are patient, you will eventually learn my name."

I propped myself up on my elbows. "I'm not a patient person."

"Yes," he closed his eyes tiredly. "Rather unfortunately, I know that."

"How could you possibly know that?"

His tail swished lazily behind him. "Simple, I know you better than anyone else."

"What--"

"Patience, little one, patience…"

Scowling, I sat up and glared at him. "Well, are you at least going to tell me where we are? Where are Urahara and everyone else?"

"Outside."

"Outside?" I looked around at my surroundings again. "Aren't we outside already?"

The wolf's lips curled up to reveal sharp teeth as he let out a snuffling noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.

"No little one, we are inside... inside of you."

"Inside of me?!?" I looked down at myself, half expecting to see some kind of hole leading into my body.

"Yes." Opening his eyes again, he lifted his head off his paws and regarded me steadily. "We are in your inner world, the place that is a reflection of your very self. This is where you shall learn about and obtain your shinigami powers."

"Are you the one who's going to teach me about them?"

The wolf paused and tilted his head slightly.

"Yes, I suppose I am." Standing up, he stretched and shook out his black fur. "Are you ready to start?"

I scrambled to my feet. "Of course!"

"Very well then… In order to obtain your shinigami powers, all you need to do is--" He leapt off the rock and faded into the wind before my very eyes. "Find me…"

"Find you?" I looked at the empty clearing and vast forest around me. "How am I supposed to do that?"

The wind swirled around me. "Use your senses."

"My senses?" I started in the direction his voice had sounded from. "What do you mean?"

The only answer I got were the trees rustling their leaves at me as the wind wound its way through them.

"Fine!" I strode across the clearing, impatiently brushing back the hair that the wind had blown into my eyes. "I'll play your little game of hide-and-seek."

Walking through the forest, I circled around each tree, even going so far as to look up into their leafy branches, searching for any sign of the wolf, whether it be a clump of black fur, a paw print, or even a brief flash of silver eyes, but my search was fruitless. There wasn't even the barest shadow of him anywhere I looked.

I growled and sat down in the grass. This was pointless. The forest was huge and my legs were only so long. It would take me days to search through the whole thing, provided that I didn't somehow manage to get lost in it. How ironic would it be if that happened? I could just imagine trying to explain that to people.

"_So what happened to you? You're covered in dirt, your arms have scratches all over them, and there are leaves and tree branches in your hair."_

"_Oh, I got lost."_

"_Where?"_

"_Uh… in my own mind…"_

Yeah, that would go across _really _well…

Then again, if I got lost in here, would anyone even know what happened to me? After all, I didn't know how to get out of here. What if I ended up stuck in here forever? That thought scared me more than the thought of dying. Being stuck in a world with only a disappearing wolf and the wind to keep me company for all of eternity did not sound like it would be good for my sanity, or at least what was left of it. Maybe that's what Urahara had meant when he called this lesson 'shattered mind'.

I shivered. Was this all some hallucination due to my mind already being shattered? Had I already gone insane? What were some of the signs?

You've started talking to yourself…

_Talking to your reanimated body probably fits the bill, check_

You see things other people don't see…

_Oh dear… check_

You talk to dead people…

I threw my hands up into the air and gave it up as a bad job. Either I was going crazy long before this all happened, or everything was actually real. Either way, sitting here questioning my sanity wasn't helping matters in any way.

The sound of the wolf's highly amused voice broke through my thoughts. "If you're really so worried, little one, I can assure you that you're not insane."

"Oh, great to know, but if I really am crazy and you're just some strange hallucination that my mind conjured up, that's what I'd have myself tell me. So you're really not helping!"

The leaves rustled again as his soft chuckle echoed around me.

"That may be true, but this is not what you should be worrying about right now. Especially since your time is running out."

I glanced around sharply before getting to my feet and slowly spinning in a circle, searching for any hint of his whereabouts as I talked. "What do you mean my time is running out?"

"Did Urahara not warn you about the erosion of your chain of fate? Have you already forgotten the threat of becoming a hollow?"

"But it's still pretty long. Look--" I pointed down at my chest, aiming to show the wolf that I was in no danger of turning into a hollow, only to realize that the metal chain was no longer there. "Where—where did it go?!?"

"Remember where you are and what it represents. The chain is attached to your physical body and belongs in the physical world. It cannot cross over into the realm of the mind."

"So how am I supposed to tell how much time I have left? Or are you going to tell me that time stops when I'm in here?"

"No, that does not happen, but this is a reflection of your very self. It should therefore reflect the deterioration of your soul."

"And does it?"

"Tell me what you see when you look at the trees around you."

"Er… leaves?"

"What color are they?"

I didn't see the point of this. "Red, orange and yellow… why?"

"When you first arrived here, the leaves were still green, with only a hint of yellow at the tips."

"I'm pretty sure they were already like this when I first saw them."

"You were unconscious for at least a day before you awoke. The fight with Ururu consumed much of your energy, especially since the protective gear they gave you was made from reiatsu-draining material."

"A day or more?!" Panic was edging into my voice. "Then how much time do I have left?"

"I would say around two or three… You will not be able to accurately judge time in this world, but the leaves will serve as your guide." His voice sounded from all around me. "When you are healthy, the leaves are green. As your time ticks by, they turn into the vibrant, warning colors of autumn, and will start to fall, signifying your decay. When the last link erodes away and a hole appears on your chest, the trees themselves begin to rot and collapse."

"Great… And I don't suppose you'll be willing to help me out by showing yourself or at least giving me a hint?"

"I already have. Use your senses."

"Okay, let me rephrase… A non-enigmatic hint."

There was no reply.

I fumed silently while making my way through the endless trees, warily eyeing their leaves as I searched high and low for the elusive wolf. Keeping his hint about using my senses in mind, I strained my ears in addition to my eyes, listening for the sound of steady breathing or padding paws, but the forest remained stubbornly silent. Aside from my muffled footsteps and the occasional snapping of fallen twigs in my path, there was no other noise, not even the chirping of birds or the buzzing of insects. My only companion as I trekked my solitary way through the silent forest was the softly whistling wind.

Peeking around yet another trunk and finding nothing, I felt my anger growing with each step. What kind of crappy hint was 'use your senses' and what the hell did finding the damn wolf have anything to do with turning into a shinigami? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to teach me how to fight hollows? Even a history lesson on their soul society would have been more helpful than walking aimlessly through an empty forest.

I threw my head back, intent on yelling at the wolf and telling him off for making me go on this wild goose chase instead of actually teaching me about my still-non-existent shinigami powers, but before I could utter a single syllable, a flash of orange caught my eye. Turning my head slightly, I watched as a single orange leaf with red splotches separated itself from a nearby branch. Time seemed to slow down and I stood rooted to the spot, eyes tracking the leaf as it floated ever so deliberately down to the forest floor and settled in the grass, a splash of flaming orange against the green stalks.

Anger forgotten, I broke out of my trance and looked fearfully up at the canopy of leaves above me, terrified that the whole lot of them would suddenly decide to detach themselves and fall down on top of my head. I had been walking around for a while, but three days couldn't possibly have passed by that quickly, right..? Was my time up already? Would I turn into a hollow now? Had I failed?

I don't know how long I stayed there. Seconds seemed like minutes that turned into hours as I stood under the leaves, hardly daring to breathe for fear that even a puff from my lungs would dislodge one and trigger the rest to tumble down onto the ground. A gust of wind came up from behind me, rustling the leaves and my breath caught in my throat as I watched yet another leaf drift off a branch and glide to a stop among the fallen twigs strewn on the grass. Wincing, I ducked my head and squeezed my eyes shut, half-expecting to feel the pinpricks of leaves as they rained down on me in a flurry of colors and hear the crashing of the giant trees as they crumbled to the ground in a heap of decay.

Not feeling anything other than the wind brushing against my cheek, I dared to crack open one eye. The trees were still standing tall all around me, their branches waving gently in the wind, resplendent with the blazing colors of autumn foliage. Watching as the leaves remained firmly attached by their stems despite the wind meandering its way through them, I straightened and gave myself a firm shake, banishing my irrational fear back into the shadows. Disgusted at how I had let a tiny leaf paralyze me, I turned and walked way from the fallen leaves, sternly reminding myself that I did not have time to waste.

Yet despite my best efforts, time easily breezed by me, seeming to leave behind a trail of phantom laughter aimed solely at my futile attempts to outrace it. The forest loomed larger and larger, casting ever-darkening shadows on me as I wandered through it, hopelessly trying to find a wolf that left no trace of himself anywhere. No matter how hard I squinted or where I searched, I just couldn't find him. Whenever I called out for him to give me another hint, the only answer I got was the crunching of freshly fallen leaves under my feet. Ignoring the protests of my exhausted body, I pushed on, not daring to stop and rest again due to the increasing amount of falling leaves.

But I could not continue on like this without taking a break. Everything around me started to blur together into a hazy whirl of tree trunks and branches as colorful leaves carpeted the forest floor. Each step I took required more and more energy and it felt like an immense weight was pushing down on my shoulders, making it harder and harder for my trembling legs to support me. Wearily turning my head to make sure that the wolf was not hiding behind me, I failed to see a root peeking out from the dirt before it caught my foot and sent me stumbling out of the grove of trees. Falling onto my hands and knees, I looked around to regain my bearings.

"Fuck…"

I was back in the clearing from where I had started, with nothing to show except for an aching body, scratched arms, strained eyes and a sore throat. Letting out a string of expletives, I hit a nearby tree in frustration, only to have a yellow leaf land on top of my head. Impatiently swiping it off, I pushed myself back onto my feet and stomped over to the rock, sitting down with a growl.

My hands absent-mindedly pulled apart the unlucky leaf as I sat on the hard surface, studiously ignoring the forest around me, but when I threw the shredded pieces into the air and watched the wind scatter them, my eyes were inevitably drawn to the trees surrounding me. Heart sinking at the sight of a bare ash standing in the distance, its autumn costume strewn across the ground beneath its bare branches, I turned my head, only to see leaves rain down in a flurry of beautiful colors that usually would have taken my breath away.

Elbows resting on my knees, I hung my head in defeat. In the end, despite surviving two hollows and finding a way to turn into a shinigami without dying, I had failed. Here in this world of falling leaves, I would turn into a hollow and die alone, unable to even say a final goodbye to my friends and family. Ignoring the warning burn of tears that threatened to trickle out, I buried my head in my hands, trying to block out the sight of fire-colored leaves whirling in the wind, mercilessly dancing to the cruel tune of death as they fell towards the ground.

Somewhere deep inside of myself, I knew that I was being weak, knew that I should get up and continue searching. A small part of me was yelling at the top of its lungs, telling me that not all the leaves had fallen yet, that I still had time, that I shouldn't stop until the trees crumbled away into nothing. But another voice, the one that belonged to the larger part of me, just didn't see the point. After all, most of the leaves were gone already and the ones that were still left kept falling at a steady rate. There was no way I was going to be able to find the wolf in that vast forest. Why should I waste what precious time I had left on a fruitless mission?

"Have you already given up Rika? I didn't know you were so weak."

I shot to my feet at the sound of the wolf's voice and wiped away the tears that had spilled down my cheeks.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear that from someone who doesn't even know how to teach."

"Oh I can teach…" His voice started off airily enough, but deepened into a growl. "But I don't feel like imparting my knowledge to those who do not have the resolve to learn."

"I had resolve enough! I came here to Urahara's, willing to risk my life to become a shinigami so I could kill those hollows. I kept fighting Ururu even though I was getting pummeled." My voice rose higher and higher until I was almost screaming. "I kept on trekking through that damn forest, trying to find you! I kept calling out to you even though you never responded! I tried my best and didn't give up until I came back here after walking around for god knows how long! So don't tell me that I don't have any resolve!"

"But you still gave up!" His voice roared in anger, causing the trees around the clearing to shake from the force. "All that burning desire to succeed could only get you this far! I have no wish to teach someone whose resolve can only take so many hits before crumbling away into ashes. I thought that you had potential, that we would have been great together… but now I can see that you are just a weakling who sits there sniffling and pitying herself when there's still time left for her to find me."

There was a slight pause as I stood there with clenched teeth and shaking fists.

"Stay there and pity yourself all you want." Cold contempt laced each word. "I have no compassion to spare for you. The people who deserve my sympathy are those who are waiting outside as you let yourself rot in here. They are the ones who will suffer the most."

I felt myself hit my breaking point. "What do you mean they'll suffer the most?! I'm the one who's going to fucking die! After I tried so hard, after all I did, I'm going to end up dying in some god-forsaken rotting forest with no one around me! Do you think that--"

"Stop being so selfish!" His furious snarl echoed through the clearing, cutting through my cloud of anger and reminding me that I was talking to a wolf who was apparently very enraged at me. "How long do you think you will have to suffer? If you die, that's the end of the story for you! What about those around you? Urahara and the others are out there, watching over your body as your chain erodes in front of their very eyes, unable to do anything. To you, that chain just ticks away the seconds to your death, to them, it ticks away the seconds to when they'll have to slay your hollow form! Do you really want to lay the guilt of ending your life on their shoulders?"

As if he had sensed that his words were getting through to me, the wolf took a deep breath and continued on in a calmer voice.

"What about your friends and family? How do you think they will take it when a stranger shows up with your body in his arms? To them, you were fine one day, only to turn up dead the next. Can you picture the shock they'd receive when they hear the news? Or even the confusion that they'll spend weeks, months, maybe _years_ trying to sort through? Imagine their grief! Your friends will probably wonder why they didn't get to spend more time with you, your parents will have to organize a funeral that no parent should have to attend, and Teison… are you willing to put him through the pain of losing his big sister?

I stared down at my feet, shame welling up from deep inside of me as I considered his words. He was right… I had been incredibly, _stupidly_, selfish by only think of myself. Too caught up in feeling sorry for myself, I hadn't even stopped to consider how my death would affect the people I cared about. My hands balled up tightly, the pain of sharp nails cutting into the soft flesh of my palm serving as a way to express my disgust with myself.

"It's not wrong to fear death little one…" The wolf's voice was gentle as he interrupted my self-castigation. "Not being afraid of it will only lead to rash decisions, but at the same time, you must not let that fear paralyze you either. Find a path between the two extremes, and you will go far. That is what I am here for."

Nodding slowly, I let out a deep breath before forcing my body to relax. There was still time, and I had no plans of becoming a person who went back on her word. After all, hadn't I told Urahara that I would go through with this?

"Will you--" I cleared my throat before continuing. "Will you teach me how to walk this path then?"

"Have you regained the resolve to learn?"

I straightened my shoulders and looked up towards the forest. "Yes!"

"Then close your eyes."

Lids slowly drifting shut, I felt my other senses rush to the forefront in order to compensate for the loss of vision.

"Can you feel the difference? Let your senses lead you… Believe in yourself…"

I scrunched my eyebrows up and frowned. Believe in myself?

A strong breeze blew in from the right with enough force to make me sway lightly on my feet. Ignoring it, I tried to make sense of the wolf's directions.

_Let my senses lead me? I don't get it… I don't sense anything but the wind…_

Another gust caused me to stumble to the left.

_It sure is picking up, pushing me around like— _

I froze as an idea flashed across my mind. Was it possible? Was the wind really—

A puff of air nudged me gently towards the left, as if it was trying to tell me where to go. Turning and taking a tentative step in that direction, I waited uncertainly before a strong gust on my back impatiently pushed me into the forest. Taking small strides with my arms stretched out in front of me, I kept my eyes screwed shut and concentrated on the feeling of the wind against my skin, nervous about the possibility of walking into trees trunks or tripping over fallen branches. Gradually though, as I wound my way through the forest, letting the ever-changing currents of air around me guide my feet, the sounds of crunching leaves settled into a steady pattern and I slowly lowered my arms to my side, placing my complete trust in the wind. Feeling at ease, I followed its directions until a gentle blast in my face signaled me to stop.

"You may open your eyes now."

Eyes fluttering open, I was met with the sight of the black wolf standing between two giant maple trees, lips pulled back slightly in a smile.

"Hello little one."

I grinned. "Long time no see."

He chuckled. "Indeed."

"So now that I found you… what happens next?"

"Next…" He swept away a pile of leaves with a paw. "You take this."

Stepping forward, I looked down to see a sword resting on a cushion of fallen leaves, the silver scabbard glinting up at me in the sunlight as I lowered myself onto one knee to take a closer look. Not daring to touch it, my hand hovered over the silver pommel and moved down to the black-wrapped grip before reaching the guard. I studied it intently, eyes taking in the black metal with four slightly curved points at each corner, almost like canines in the mouth of a yawning wolf.

"Is—is this my zanpakutou?"

"Yes. Go ahead and take me out."

I turned to face him in surprise. "You're--"

He inclined his head slightly before looking around nervously as the trees around us seemed to shudder under some gigantic weight. "My name will have to wait. Your time is up and all the leaves are about to fall. Hurry and pull me out!"

I glanced down at the sword before looking back up at the wolf, my hand hovering near the guard. "Will I see you again?"

He smiled gently. "Of course, how else are you going to learn who I am?"

The trees started to tremble again, accompanied by a rumbling sound that was growing louder and louder with each passing second.

"You must go now!"

Nodding as I felt the blood drain out of my face from fear, I quickly closed my hand around the sword and pulled, but not before hearing a loud roar echo its way through the violently quaking forest as leaves cascaded down in a torrent of fiery ruin.

* * *

_**A/N:** Ohoho! Did she make it out in time? Yes, it's a cliffy, and yes, I am evil.  
_

_So you guys met Rika's zanpakutou spirit and got a brief look at her sealed sword's form. As many of you guys guessed in the poll, her spirit is a wolf. Good job! I'm actually very surprised that 'a bird' got so many votes, but now that I look back on it, I can kind of see why. Thanks for voting everyone! _

_There's another poll up now, and this time, it has to do with her zanpakutou's powers. It's an elemental weapon, but exactly which one is it? I've dropped LOTS of clues in this chapter and wanna see how obvious those clues were to you guys. So yes... go vote! _

_Don't know when Chapter 10 will come out. I honestly don't quite know what it's going to be like... Guess I was just too excited about this chapter ^^;_

_Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought!  
_


	10. Calling Out the Wolf Within

_**Disclaimer: **The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize._

Ch. 10: Calling Out the Wolf Within

I had imagined my return to the world of the living to be something spectacular, like what you would see on the television when the hero steps out of the smoke with his hands tucked leisurely into his pockets, a satisfied gleam in his eyes and a playful smirk on his face while everyone else stares at him in awe. Instead, I found myself in the same kneeling position as before, blinking away multi-colored dots from my vision, and trying not to choke on the sheer amount of dust swirling around me.

The only silver lining in this cloud was the scabbard of my zanpakutou, other than that, the whole—

_Wait… zanpakutou?_

My eyes darted down to the black cloth I was using to cover the lower half of my face. Holding my arms open, I studied the shihakushō draped around my body and lightly touched the sword strapped to my side. Grinning widely at the realization that I had successfully become a shinigami, I let out a loud whoop of joy, only to quickly find out how bad of an idea that was once dust promptly decided to rush into my airways.

"Well, I think we can take a wild guess and say that she didn't turn into a hollow." Jinta's obnoxious voice could be heard over my coughs. "Though, it does sound like she might lose a lung soon… Mah, one less shinigami to worry about then!"

Stumbling out of the cloud of dust, the sleeve of my hakama held tight over my nose and mouth, I sent a glare in the red-head's general direction. "Shut up! Not like it's never happened to you before!"

"It hasn't!" He folded his hands behind his head and smirked up at me. "I was never stupid enough to open my mouth when so much dust was floating around."

"Oh? You sure about that, Jinta-_kun_?"

His eyes narrowed at the tone I had used to drag out the '-kun' part. "Of course!"

"Well then, you shouldn't mind if I do this right?" And with that, I proceeded to kick dust at him.

"Hey! What are--" His furious shout was interrupted by the coughing fit that had now overtaken him.

I grinned. Childish, yes, but it was so satisfying to watch him try to yell at me while choking on dust. "Who's the stupid one now, Jinta-kun?"

"Now, now children…" Urahara stepped between us as Tessai slapped Jinta on the back in an effort to help him clear his lungs, only to send the poor boy flying. "This isn't the time to be fighting."

Deciding to let his 'children' comment slip by since I had been acting quite immaturely, I shrugged. "Not my fault there's so much dust in this place."

"Would you rather that we had built it out of concrete or metal? I assure you that those would hurt quite a bit during training."

"No, but—Wait, you built this place?!"

"Hehehe… That's right! This is a masterpiece created by a combination of chic swankiness and our hyper technology! I painted the ceiling with a sky so that it would alleviate your sense of frustration, and even planted trees to hydrate your soul! To do this much in secret in the underground beneath all those roads and houses, well I sure broke a bone or two!"

I raised my eyebrows at the man. "I'm sure you didn't. You probably just had Tessai do all the heavy lifting and work."

He waved his fan negligently. "Details, details, Shirataki-san… Let's focus on the main issue here. After all, lesson two has been… cleared!"

"Oh really? I hadn't figured that out, what with the robes and sword…"

"And as such," The man was ignoring me. "We can now start on lesson three!"

"No."

Urahara peered at me from over his fan, eyes wide. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not starting anything until you tell me what happened earlier. You drained my reiatsu, paralyzed me, and then thrust me into my inner world. I think I deserve an explanation before I do anything else."

"Well…" he swung his cane up and rested it on his shoulder as he began to walk back and forth in front of me. "You needed to get into your inner world in order to obtain your shinigami powers, but there were only two ways of accessing it and making contact with your zanpakutou spirit. One involved meditation and coming to terms with oneself, requiring a lengthy amount of time that you did not have. The other was to have your zanpakutou spirit make contact with you first and pull you into your world itself. Draining your spiritual force was part of that second method."

"And you couldn't have told me this _before_ you went all creepy and 'shattered mind' on me when I was paralyzed and panicking?"

"I could have…" The cane started to tap against his neck as he seemed to consider that idea for the first time. "But I wasn't sure if it would have worked. In fact, if Ururu had not landed that last hit where she did, I highly doubt that the needed jolt would have been present to unstabilize your soul and cause your zanpakutou spirit to reach out and pull you in."

"Unstabilize?"

"At the point before Ururu hit you with her full force, most of your reiatsu had been drained and you were running on adrenaline and the last reserves of your spiritual energy. When she lost control, she aimed all her force at your soul chain. It would have been enough to kill you had the last of your spiritual force not risen up to protect you from the brunt of the punch. As it was, you were protected, but left on the brink of either losing all your spiritual powers or dying. At such a state, and with a little push from me, your dormant shinigami powers rose up to pull you into your inner world and save your life."

I glared. "So you basically tried to kill me, not once, but twice…"

"Now that's not fair Shirataki-san… I wasn't _actually_ trying to kill you, just bring you to the very brink and essentially force you to save yourself! Besides," He was hiding behind his fan again. "I actually _did_ kill you the first time, so you see, there was no trying involved."

The urge to grab that fan and whack him over the head with it was very strong, but I managed to restrain myself. "You aren't helping your case, or your nose."

"Ah re, ah re… what an admirable spirit! If that's the case, you get your wish… Let's begin lesson three shall we?"

I raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"Why it would be…" He raised his cane and pulled on the handle, drawing out a hidden sword. "To try to not die."

"Again?!?"

"Oh yes!" His answer sounded a bit too cheerful to my ears. "Now, I suggest that you draw your zanpakutou as well if you don't want to die."

And before I had a chance to properly pull out my blade, he lunged towards me, sword raised to shoulder level and poised to slash across my chest.

"Wha--" The forceful vibrations from his sword clashing against mine ran down my arms and cut me off mid-word. "Damn it!"

I placed one hand against the back of my blade and pushed hard against it, trying to force him back.

"Can't you properly explain stuff to me _before_ trying to kill me? It would make me more open to these schemes of yours."

"But my dear Shirataki-san," Urahara drew back before delivering several swift strokes to my zanpakutou, pushing me back with the sheer power of his swings. "I already did explain this to you!"

"Like hell you did!" There was no way I was going to be able to attack him like this. "All you explained to me was the reasoning behind the second lesson. The only information you gave me about _this_ lesson was to try to not die."

"Ah, but if you don't learn to connect concepts, you will not survive long in this world." He had me backed up against a boulder now. "Though, it doesn't look like you'll be with us for long."

And with that, he pulled back his arm, before springing forward and stabbing at my head.

Or rather, where my head would have been had I not quickly scrunched down and ducked out from under his raised arm. Watching as his sword cleaved through the boulder like it was made out of butter, I was, for the first time in my life, extremely grateful for the fact that I was short.

"I don't think so Urahara… I'm not making it _that_ easy for you!"

"Is that so?" Something in his voice and the way his eyes flicked over my shoulder made me look behind me, only to quickly leap to the side as bullets buried themselves where I had been standing only seconds ago. Blinking stupidly at the churned up dirt, I turned my head to confirm the sight of Ururu with a smoking machine gun of sorts propped up on her shoulder.

She bowed. "Please dodge carefully Shirataki-san."

"You…" I turned back towards Urahara. "Ururu's attacking me too?!?"

The only answer I got was a slight tilt of the hat before he flew at me again, blade flashing with deadly intent. I lifted my arms, intent on slicing his unprotected midsection, but the faint whistle of bullets flying through the air caused me to leap to the side in order to avoid both attacks. Looking around for cover, I spotted a large boulder and started sprinting towards it, zigzagging so as to not be hit by the shower of bullets Ururu was shooting at me.

Throwing myself behind the rock, I frantically tried to think of a plan with the sound of projectiles pounding relentlessly into the other side of my temporary shield. I wouldn't be able to focus on attacking Urahara what with Ururu endlessly firing at me, but at the same time, I knew that I wouldn't be able to take out Ururu, especially not with Urahara trying to slice me into little pieces. The shopkeeper must know that, which meant… the point of this lesson wasn't for me to fight them!

But then what was it that I had to do?

_A smirk. "Try not to die."_

Right, like that helped. All he had told me about this third lesson was for me to try to not die and that I had to learn how to connect things. If that was the case, then—

"Hiding?"

So lost in thought was I that I hadn't even noticed Urahara approaching, leisurely tapping the back of his blade against his neck as he slowly walked towards me. I straightened from my crouched position, adjusting my grip on my sword as I shot back.

"Thinking."

"Oh? About?"

"This lesson."

"And your conclusions?"

"Haven't reached them yet, you interrupted my train of thought."

"Ah! My apologies…" And with that, he lunged towards me once more.

I brought my zanpakutou up to block his attack, grunting a bit from the effort. "Apology definitely _not_ accepted."

He just grinned before swinging at me yet again, his sword clashing against mine with a resounding crash. Trying to hold him off the best I could, my mind worked frantically. If I didn't figure out the point of this lesson soon, I would really die, either impaled on Urahara's sword or shot full of holes by Ururu, neither of which sounded particularly appealing. Sifting through all the information I had been given so far, I thought hard. He had told me to try and not die, meaning that he was trying to kill me, like in my first lesson, which meant that he was trying to get my zanpakutou spirit to make a connection again, but why?

His voice broke me out of my thoughts. "My dear Shirataki-san, leaving your back unprotected is not the smartest thing to do when fighting!"

"It is pro--" I glanced back, only to realize that the boulder I had been hiding behind was quickly crumbling away under the barrage of Ururu's attack.

I cursed, the alarm bells in my head blaring at me to move _now_, but I was pinned down between the two of them. My eyes darted around, searching for an opening somewhere, _anywhere,_ finally falling on Urahara's stance. He was resting all his weight on his left leg as he kept me trapped against the boulder, if I could somehow throw him off balance for even a second, I would be able to get out of here…

He leaned even closer, pressing down on me, a dangerous grin on his face. "Time's up!"

_Now!_

I grabbed the end of my scabbard and pulled it loose from my obi, holding it tight against my left forearm as I brought it up to block his blade, pushing back against him, giving me enough room to slash my zanpakutou down across his leg. It wasn't a deep cut, the angle of the swing had been awkward, but it had caught him off guard, allowing me to spin away from him just before the boulder crumbled and bullets buried themselves where I had been standing. I ran towards another group of rocks, taking cover behind them as I tried to catch my breath and organize my thoughts.

It seemed that the point of this lesson was for me to make a connection with my zanpakutou spirit, which meant that there must be more to my shinigami powers than just obtaining the sword… The wolf had led me to my sword, had said that he was my zanpakutou… I looked down at the blade, trying to recall what he had said when I had been inside my inner world.

"_I know you better than anyone else…"_

"_Are you the one who's going to teach me about my powers?"_

_A tilt of his head. "Yes, I suppose I am…"_

Alright, so he was part of me, part of my very soul and was the one who was going to teach me about my powers, but how? I didn't even know his name.

Wait, name...

"_It would be inconceivable for you to catch my name so soon."_

"_You __will eventually learn my name."_

"_My name will have to wait."_

He had kept on emphasizing his name, never actually telling me what it was, yet alluding to it over and over again. Was knowing his name the key to this lesson? Did a zanpakutou's name have something to do with unleashing its powers?

"That was an unexpected move back there, Shirataki-san."

I whirled around at the sound of Urahara's voice, only to find the man leaning against one of the rocks behind me, casually twirling his cane around one finger by the handle. Raising my sword, I eyed him warily, noticing that the bleeding on his leg seemed to have stopped.

"Like I would have been able to get out of that mess if I hadn't managed to surprise you."

"That is very true indeed…" He grinned slightly, not seeming to be very upset over the wound I had given him. "Were you thinking again?"

"Yes." My eyes followed the moving tip of his sword, body taut with tension, ready to respond should he suddenly decide to attack. "Does learning my zanpakutou spirit's name have anything to do with the point of this lesson?"

The grin widened. "Very good Shirataki-san! That is indeed the point of the third lesson!" He pushed off from the rock and caught the handle of his sword, eyes glinting at me from under the hat. "Well then, since you've managed to connect the dots, it's about time I got a bit more serious, no?"

I paled. A bit more serious? He was already formidable enough at this level and he wanted to get more serious?!

"Ah… no… that's okay. You're plenty serious enough for me, thanks…"

"Now don't be like that… After all, my zanpakutou wants to be released!" He looked down at his sword, the cheerful note dropping from his voice, a menacing vein creeping into it. "Okiro, Benihime!"

And before my astonished eyes, the weapon in his hand started to glow, then change shape. The handle of the cane stretched and turned into a long hilt, the last couple inches bent at an angle, a crimson tassel dangling off the end. There was no guard, but rather a decorative red string wrapped around where one would have been, a three-loop bow on one side and a folded paper decoration on the other. Above it was a small flower design on a U-shaped piece of metal that covered the first three or four inches of the straight, slim blade, the tip of which ended in a slanted razor-like edge instead of tapering off into a point like most swords. The feeling coming off of it and Urahara was now completely different from what I had felt earlier. They felt dangerous, deadly, full of sharply honed power and strength.

I gulped. There was no way I was going to be able to stand up to them, much less try and learn my own zanpakutou's name at the same time.

Urahara smirked. "Scared, Shirataki-san? I can feel the fear rolling off of you from all the way over here. Well, I can't blame you. After all, Benihime is not a terribly sweet-natured sword and she _has_ been eager to meet you ever since you drew first blood." He tilted his chin down, the hat throwing most of his face into shadow. "Very, very eager…"

I saw his body tense, instinctively knowing that he was about to spring towards me, and without a second thought, turned tail and ran. It was cowardly and made me feel disgusted with myself, but if I didn't run, I would surely die.

A small chuckle sounded right beside my ear. "Do you really think you can get away?"

My eyes widened, how had he already caught up to me?! Gritting my teeth, I slid to a stop and turned to slash at him with my sword, trying to drive him off, but he merely brought his blade up to block mine, then pushed forward with a grin, sending me hurtling through the air like a ragdoll. Hitting the ground hard, I struggled to get air back into my lungs as I rolled up onto my knees, only to raise my head and see him come flying at me through the dust, Benihime glinting in the light.

I let out a small gasp, frantically bringing my left arm up to block his blade with my scabbard, but his blows were so strong that they knocked my arm aside, paralyzing it in the process and leaving me completely open to attack. Unable to bring my sword up in time, I was forced to drop back onto the ground, throwing out my left leg in an attempt to knock him over, but he easily evaded it by leaping up into the air. Taking the opening that presented, I quickly scrambled up onto my feet and ran in the opposite direction, gripping my zanpakutou tightly in my right hand as fear pumped through my veins. I hated myself for acting so pathetically, but the panic inside was quickly overwhelming my ability to think, much like when I had been in my inner world.

"This is disappointing Shirataki-san…" I felt Urahara's hand close around the back of my collar before I was forcibly pulled back and thrown onto the ground, panicked eyes meeting his ruthlessly serious ones as he straightened and raised his sword. "Terribly, terribly disappointing…"

Yelping, I swung my sword blindly, managing to bat away his zanpakutou and roll onto my feet, but I wasn't quick enough to avoid his next strike, and before I knew it, white-hot pain flashed across my consciousness and burned across my midsection as blood splattered across the ground.

I let out a short scream of pain and staggered back from him before gritting my teeth against the pain, one hand pressed against the wound on my stomach, the other shakily raising my zanpakutou in defense. The cut didn't feel very deep and I wasn't losing a lot of blood, but it still hurt nonetheless and did nothing to allay my fear. I could see death in Urahara's cold eyes and the ominous glint of Benihime's blade.

_I'm going to die… I'm seriously going to die…_

The words ran frantically through my head as I slowly took a step back with every click of Urahara's getas, waves of terror crashing into me, breaking my self-control into tiny pieces as it slowly, but inexorably, pulled me under, drowning me in an ocean of despair.

"What did I teach you about fearing death?"

And suddenly, the black wolf was standing in front of me while Urahara and everything else around me faded into the gray mist that had appeared out of nowhere.

"You--"

"Didn't I tell you not to let fear paralyze you? Have you forgotten all that you learned while with me?"

"No, but he--"

"Is still only one person. Banish your fear, it does nothing but smother your senses." Walking closer on silent paws, his silver eyes met mine in a calm gaze. "You once asked me for my name, are you ready to hear it?"

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, letting his tranquility wash over me and drive away the fear. Now that I thought about it, he was right. Ururu had stopped attacking me when Urahara released his sword and he was only one man. Granted, one who was much stronger than me, but he had said that the point of the lesson was for me to learn my zanpakutou's name and with the wolf in front of me, it seemed like this lesson was going to come to a close. Readjusting my grip on the sword, I let out a small sigh before opening my eyes and nodding, indicating that I was ready.

"Look into the face of fear and stand firm, strengthen your resolve and master your fright. Remember what it is you fight for and call me out, for I am--"

His name echoed loudly in my head as the mist lifted to reveal Urahara, his eyes fixed on me, sword at the ready. Sliding my right leg back and shifting my stance, I raised my arms, crossing my left arm and zanpakutou up in front of me, gusts of wind blowing my bangs back from my face. Concentrating, I felt energy flow inside me, slowly spreading through my whole body, growing in power, swelling until it could no longer be contained, the words finally bursting forth from deep within.

"Howl, Yafuurou!"

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**Yafuurou = Night/Wild Wind Wolf**

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_**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait everyone! This past semester at school really pummeled me and beat out all the creativity, hence the almost half-year gap between the two chapters. I am terribly sorry for making you guys wait for so long! _

_Now, about this chapter... First off, yes, I realize that 'howl' is the release command that Renji uses for Zambimaru, but I could not think of a better word that encompasses both the wind and the wolf. If you guys think otherwise and have suggestions, then please by all means, let me know!_

_Secondly, like most of you guessed, Yafuurou's elemental powers are those grounded in wind. Nicely done. Exactly what those abilities are though,... well, I guess you guys will just have to wait until the next chapter! _

_Speaking of chapter 11, I actually don't quite know what's going to happen in it, but hopefully I'll be able to use this winter break to come up with something and write it all out. Everything from here on out is basically a blank page as I have not mapped anything out yet, so... if you guys want to see something, drop me a line and maybe it'll give me ideas as to what to write!_

_Anyways, hope this chapter went over well! Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought!  
_


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